No more a hermit!

I have a confession to make...I have a tendency to be a hermit. But recently God has been deaing with me about how people who keep themselves away from others do it out of selfishness. And gee whiz, I don't want to be selfish. I honestly never felt like it mattered to anyone whether I was THERE or not. Okay, so I have major self-esteem issues too. Which isn't pretty. But lately I have been moving into an area where I'm forced to hang out with people and guess what? I'm making friends, learning who likes me and who honestly would rather not hang with me (and that's okay--sniff). I'm rejoining the human race and learning that giving my time and effort to get to know people is all about God and He is into friendships. PLUS, and get this...I'm actually getting more out of this than I'm giving. I'm learning that people are creative, funny, insightful, smart, talented, godly, not-so-godly (and I'm okay with that), friendly, and willing to be my friend. I'm laughing more, loving more, praying more for my new friends and church family, appreciating my leaders more and truly growing in grace and favor and in my relationship with God.
Who knew all I had to do was walk out my door and give my heart?
Merry Christmas!