When is the last time you put something out there – an idea or opinion or emotion?

Today I reached a place where I could go no further on my own. I needed help. I needed someone taller, to see farther down the road than my 5-foot frame will allow me. I needed someone more experienced, to remind me that all things take time. I needed someone who knows people outside my circles and places outside my comfort zone. I needed connections and suggestions and inspiration.

I spoke to myself the way I’d speak to a graduate student who came to my office seeking advice (or solace) after hearing another bleak forecast for the job market they were about to enter. “Instead of trying to find something, put yourself out there so that something can find you!”

So, I “cast my bread upon the waters.”* Thanks to email and social media, I reached out to colleagues and friends from the wide array of experiences I’ve crammed into my 44 years. I shared my vague but heartfelt query, then let go. It felt like crowd surfing at a concert (or at least what I imagine that must feel like, since I’ve never actually done that) – riding a wave of support, virtual hands and shoulders carrying me safely to the other side of something I wasn’t able to cross on my own.

That’s all I needed to help remove the knot from my stomach and the tension from my neck (for now at least). And while the bread I cast may be slow in returning, I trust it will find me again and I look forward to sharing the increase!

*Ecclesiastes 11:1