According to Gallup Strengths Finder, my number one strength is connectedness. Months after taking the Strengths test, I am beginning to realize how true that is. I love connecting people to each other!
For example, I found joy in introducing my friends Sarah Han and Sara Hahne to each other and seeing their reactions as they finally met the other girl on their campus for whom they are always confused. When my Honduran-American friend visited me at Wheaton, I introduced her to my friend who was a missionary kid in Honduras for most of her life, and they conversed in Spanish while I stood back and watched, glad they could speak their home languages together.
Throughout my life, I have felt like a mediator. I was never part of the “in” crowd, but I had good relationships with adults, and I could reach out to the new kids at school. I connected with the outcasts and the lonely. In my freshman year of college, one friend described the main group on my dorm floor as being a pack of wolves. She called herself a lone wolf. I was in between, connecting with both sides, she said. I was pleased at this and thought of myself as a mediator because I do not like to leave out anyone.
Perhaps there is a difference between mediating and connecting, but we can consider that another time. For now, I want to share who I would most love to connect.
Most of my friends now are from the Office of Multicultural Development, a hub and “home” for minority and third culture kids at Wheaton College, IL. Everyone is welcome, regardless of race or culture, which is why I hang out there all the time despite being a White American.
Since I am a White person involved with minority issues, I hope I am in a position to mediate between the majority and the minorities. Perhaps White people will listen to me when I say that #blacklivesmatter because they may be more comfortable around me. Once this trust is established and conversations on race have begun, I can urge them to talk to minorities about minority issues since I am not one myself and have not had the same experiences. I can connect the two parties and help integrate our school into a more harmonious place for the glory of God.
As time passes, I increasingly realize how much joy I find in connecting two people or parties. I love when they are delighted to know each other. I love seeing people make their own connections, and I am glad when they become acquaintances or friends. Something clicks, and I am thrilled.
Why am I writing this today? For one, I did not want to study for finals. Secondly, I was reflecting on the joy of connectedness. Thirdly, as I wrote, I realized that I long for unity and harmony in the world.
Because of Christ Jesus, Christians of all cultures and races can attain this. He has made us one in Him. I especially long to see people of differing cultures and races connect and unite, whether they be East Asians and New Englanders, Blacks and Whites in the States, Puerto Ricans and African Americans, or people of the same race but differing socializations or cultures. We all have some form of common ground, and this commonality is what connects us. When people connect, opportunity abounds for Jesus to be shared and glorified. After all, He is the great Mediator connecting the world to God!
Today I write because am happy and because I hope someone will read this and consider branching out of his or her comfort zone and to make new friends of a different race, culture or background who can challenge and love him or her well.
People have so much to give.
katelyn skye bennett 