I’d been invited to speak to a small group of older women at an unfamiliar church within a couple hours from home, and I felt welcome right away. The three women who greeted me quickly passed the formalities of where to sit, stand to speak, and set up a book table and began to talk about shopping habits, Google searches, and small town idiosyncrasies. Several more women entered the room laughing and introduced themselves. Always looking for small ways to help me get to know and remember individuals I meet, I called attention to the beautiful butterfly ring on one woman’s finger, commenting on the connection to the butterfly image of Pure Purpose. She unhesitatingly pulled it off her finger and extended it to me. When I tried to tell her I didn’t need it, I quickly realized she wasn’t going to take “no” for an answer, and I graciously took the ring and slid it on my finger. It fit perfectly.

I settled into a seat at a round table with a couple of my new friends, and we were joined by several others, one by one, until our table was full. We had little time to get to know each other before the program began, but we certainly didn’t waste a moment. As soon as the main program ended and it was time for lunch, we dug into conversation again, flitting from one topic to another.

Near the end of lunch, one more announcement was made. There were fancy socks (designed to wear with flip flops) in the center of each table, and women were instructed to take a pair home if they had on pink underwear. I did! But…it never seems fair to me to win a door prize as a speaker, so I asked who else at my table had on pink. Before another woman could answer, someone walked by the table and announced the color she was wearing, then proceeded to prove it! That started a chain reaction, and there was a brief flurry of flashes of color surrounding our table. I wondered if I’d ever be asked to speak in the area again!

As we settled down, many women around us began to clean up and get ready to leave, but our conversation took a turn to more serious topics. We discussed marriage, divorce, same-sex attraction, abandonment issues, government, and more. We didn’t dig deeply into any one topic, but there was an intensity to our discussions. We didn’t agree on everything, but no one attacked or belittled anyone else. More questions were asked than statements declared. There was a genuine, “What do you think?” And someone always followed up the first question with “What does God say?”

At first, I was a bit taken aback that a table of women who didn’t know one another well would jump into such topics with a great deal of respect for one another (as opposed to the push of personal agendas and intolerance often permeating such talks). Then I realized there had been a warm-up process. We’d been listening and sharing along the way, and we’d done so with respect. We’d expressed genuine interest in each other, found common ground, and authentically revealed something about ourselves. To continue into some more sensitive topics—topics that could just as easily divide than unite—was the next step. We went a little deeper, because we could. We felt safe. We were ready.

We were a round table of women who didn’t know each other well but who came together for a brief period of time and shared life. All it took to get started was the willingness to get started. Authentically being ourselves and sharing, one thing led to another, and we grew together.

That’s what doing life along side others is all about. Sometimes it’s brief and sometimes it’s a lifetime. Some conversations are fun and silly and others are controversial and serious.

God is giving you opportunities to do life alongside others today. You might be very familiar with some of the people in your day. Some might be strangers to you right now. And there are a lot of people in between. Be sensitive to each person God brings into your life today. Discern the response and investment he intends you to have. Authentically be the person he intends you to be and trust him…as one thing leads to another.