“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Romans 10:17

It is rare to come across a story that stops you in your tracks, but a mother wrote to us recently about her son—her bright, beautiful, nonverbal boy with autism, and I was left speechless.

Every morning, they would drive to school with Christian music filling the car. He could not express what he was thinking, but she could see something shifting. His eyes would light up, his hands would still, and his whole posture would change as if something was unfolding inside of him.

Then one morning, everything changed.

Out of nowhere, he spoke. “I want to give my life to Jesus.”

The words hit her like a tidal wave, and she nearly had to pull the car over. In ten years, he had never spoken a full sentence like that. And yet, there it was—clear, certain, and life-changing.

She had no idea that music was laying a foundation in his heart, but God knew. He was working through something as simple as a song on the radio, reaching her son in a way no one else could.

And it makes me wonder—how often do we dismiss the small things? A song, a conversation, a moment of kindness. We think they don’t make much of a difference, but what if they do?

What if the way you show up today—the words you speak, the things you share—is the very thing God wants to use to reach someone?

You may never see it firsthand. But that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

1 Peter 4:10

When I first got my little red truck, I wished I hadn’t. It was small, dinged-up and had a bullet hole—not exactly the dream vehicle for a teenager trying to fit in.

At first, I was embarrassed. People would make jokes about it, and I would laugh along while secretly wishing for something a little nicer.

Then one day, my friend needed a ride to church. I hesitated, but I said yes. Then another friend needed a lift. Then someone else. Before long, my vehicle was packed with people, week after week, headed to a place where they could hear about Jesus.

The more I used it to help others, the less I cared about its dents and scratches. They did not define its worth, just like my own imperfections did not define mine. What I once saw as embarrassing became one of the greatest tools God had ever given me.

How often do we do that? How often do we look at what we have—our time, our resources, our gifts—and decide they aren’t good enough? We assume we need something bigger, better, or more polished before God can work through us. But that is never how He operates.

God doesn’t ask for perfection. He asks for willingness.

Maybe you have been holding back, waiting for something better before you step out. But what if what you have right now is exactly what God wants to use? What if the little, ordinary, unimpressive thing in your hands is the key to something bigger than you imagined?

Because in God’s hands, nothing is too small to make a difference.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Matthew 7:7 

He almost didn’t do it.

His mom’s diagnosis had turned their world upside down, and he wanted to help. But what could a 14-year-old really do?

The idea had formed in a rush: if he shaved his head, he could raise money for cancer research. But standing on his neighbor’s porch now with a pair of clippers, he felt ridiculous.

He clutched them in his hand like a lifeline. “Uh—hi,” he started, voice cracking. “My mom has cancer. I want to raise money for research, so I’m shaving my head. Would you be willing to donate?”

Silence.

His heart pounded. The awkwardness clawed at him, but then the neighbor asked, “How much are you hoping to raise?”

He shared his goal. It sounded impossible the moment he said it, but the neighbor disappeared inside. When he returned, he handed the boy a check for a thousand dollars. The exact amount!

The boy’s mouth fell open. “Wait. What?”

The neighbor just smiled. “Yeah, and I am also going to talk at our homeowners’ association meeting tonight about how we can do more.”

He walked home with the check in hand, mind spinning. He had expected pocket change. But this? This was so much bigger.

All he had done was ask. And generosity had answered—louder than he ever imagined.

We tell ourselves we are too small to make a difference. That what we have to offer could never be enough. But maybe the real question is not if we can help. Maybe it is whether we are willing to step out, awkward and unsure, and simply try.

Because sometimes, when we do, hope shows up in ways we never saw coming.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

John 13:34

Kenny had learned the hard way that people don’t always care. His home life was falling apart, and he carried that weight on his shoulders every day.

At school, he kept to himself, thinking that if he stayed quiet enough, no one would notice the pain he was carrying.

But Katie noticed.

The other kids laughed when Kenny stumbled and scattered his books across the cafeteria floor, but Katie didn’t. Kenny had braced himself, eyes locked on the floor when suddenly, another pair of hands reached down to help. He looked up to see her.

She did not even hesitate. She just handed him his books and said, “Come on, let’s get ice cream.”

Kenny stared at her. “What?”

She shrugged. “Ice cream fixes a lot.”

He wanted to tell her no, that he was fine, that she did not have to waste her time. But something about the way she looked at him—like she saw him—made him follow her out the door.

They did not talk about what had happened. She did not ask questions. They just sat together in the school courtyard, letting the warmth of the sun and the cold of the ice cream do what words couldn’t. And in that quiet space, Kenny felt something shift.

For the first time in a long time, Kenny did not feel invisible.

Years later, at graduation, Kenny prepared to give his valedictorian speech. He took a deep breath and leaned into the microphone.

“Most people think life is changed by big moments,” He paused and looked at Katie, “but sometimes, it’s something small. A kindness I didn’t deserve, from someone who didn’t have to care.”

When I think about Kenny and Katie, I am reminded that loving people like Jesus doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes, it looks like stopping for someone who thinks no one would.

Dear one, who in your life needs that kind of love? It doesn’t take much to change the trajectory of someone’s world.

You never know. It really could mean everything.

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

1 John 3:18

I should have already been on the road. Instead, I was staring at my Jeep’s very flat tire. This was not how the day was supposed to go.

I managed to limp the car over to Christian Brothers Automotive, hoping they could fix my flat quickly and get me back on the road, but they were closed.

So, I left my car there, called an Uber, jumped on a plane, and tried to push the thought of the tire out of my mind.

A few days later, as I flew home, I remebered my car. I hadn’t even called the shop! I wondered….Was my car still in their parking lot? Had they towed it?

When I called the shop, Jed answered and said, “It’s still here.  And we actually don’t do tires here.”

Argh.

Before I could even figure out what to do next, Jed kept talking. “We can air it up for you. Or if you’ve got a spare, I’ll put it on.”

I blinked. That was not what I expected. He had no reason to help me, and yet, his offer didn’t cost a thing.

When I got back to the shop, they had already aired up the tires, and I was struck by how intentional they had been with us. They even took the time to teach my son, JD, how to change a flat tire. As a single mom, it meant more to me than words could express. I had tears of gratitude as we drove away.

Jed probably never thought twice about offering his help, but I have not stopped thinking about it. That day, Christian Brothers Automotive truly lived up to their name.

Because isn’t that what following Jesus really looks like? Showing up for people and offering a moment of care when they least expect it? Being kind?

God constantly gives us chances to be that unexpected kindness for someone else. The truth is, we all feel stuck at times—whether it is a flat tire, a flat heart, or a flat hope. What we need most in those moments is not someone to fix us—it is someone to see us and remind us that we matter.

What if today, that kindness starts with you?

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”

Romans 5:3-4

Eliza hated the silence. Her life had always been so full of movement and things to do. She spent her days teaching, writing, and serving others. But now, all of that was gone.

The injury had taken it from her.

She lay in bed, her body aching, her spirit restless. The days felt unbearably long, and the quietness stretched on. At first, she fought against it. She asked the same questions over and over: Why me? What now? Where are you God?

But as the days passed, she started to read her Bible. This was not the casual kind of reading for passing the time. No. She was desperate.

And in those long, slow hours spent in the Word, she saw things she had never noticed before. Words she had once skimmed past now felt alive. Promises she had memorized now felt like they were written just for her.

She knew she was not just surviving this hardship—God was doing something in it.

One day, she found herself humming a song she had started writing before the injury. It was just another project back then. But now? The words meant something. It went like this.

“When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!”

She had never clung to heaven like this before. She had never needed to. But now, her hope in Jesus felt different. Stronger. More real.

When she finally released the song, it spread like wildfire. People who were hurting and searching found something in those words—something bigger than their pain.

Eliza Hewitt would have never chosen this hardship, but looking back, she saw it clearly. Her pain had not been wasted. God turned her silence into a song of hope, and it was too valuable to keep to herself.

That’s the thing. Sometimes, the greatest good that comes out of our hardship is what we are called to give away. Could it be that the very thing you are wrestling with is the thing that someone else needs to hear?

 

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Galatians 6:2

Ursula had spent her whole life being the strong one—the one who showed up for everybody else. But that day on the mountain, she had to be the one who was carried.

One wrong step, a sharp twist, and pain like fire shot through her ankle. She hit the ground hard, gasping. She tried to stand, but the moment her foot touched the dirt, she crumpled.

Miles of rocky trail stretched between her and help. There was no cell service, no way to call anyone, and for the first time in a long time, she felt completely helpless.

Then, three young men rounded the bend, breathless from their run. They could have smiled politely and jogged on past. Instead, they stopped.

One of them, a boy named Troy, crouched beside her. “Ma’am,” he said, his voice steady, “we’ve got you.”

And before she could argue, he knelt down, let her wrap her arms around his shoulders, and lifted her clean off the ground. Step by step, he carried her down that mountain, his friends steadying them along the way.

By the time they reached the bottom, Ursula’s ankle was still broken, but she felt more cared for than she had in a long time. Because kindness like that—the kind that costs something—sticks with you. They didn’t owe her anything. And yet, they gave anyway. Strength. Time. Compassion.

And the truth is, we all get the chance to be that for somebody.

Some burdens in life are too heavy to bear alone. But what if someone’s relief is waiting on your willingness? What if the kindness you offer today is the kindness that changes everything?

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Isaiah 26:3

I woke up with fear sitting heavy on my chest.

Even before my eyes opened, the anxiety was there—pressing, suffocating, unshakable. The world had shut down because of the pandemic. The news was a constant flood of uncertainty, and my mind raced with questions that had no answers.

Would my family be okay? How long would this last? How would we make it financially?

I rolled over and stared at the ceiling, hoping the stillness of the room would settle my nerves. It didn’t.

I needed something stronger than fear.

I threw off the covers, walked to my home office, and pulled up the Christian radio stream.

The voices of my friends back at the radio station filled the room. Happy. Steady. Reassuring. They were not ignoring what was happening, but they were not drowning in it either.

As I listened, something wonderful happened. It was as if, for the first time in days, I could actually breathe. Tears blurred my vision as I sat back in my chair. Because in that moment, I knew—God had not abandoned us. He had not abandoned me.

And He had just used two people on the radio to remind me of that.

That is why I believe in Christian radio. Because it is not just a broadcast—it is ministry. It is real people, speaking real hope into real lives. And I know I am not the only one who needs it.

Someone else is waking up today with that same weight on their chest. I want to make sure that when they turn on the radio, hope is waiting for them.

Would you want to be a part of that?

“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

2 Corinthians 9:7

I love a good personality test. Meyers-Briggs, strengths assessments—I will take them all. So, when I took a spiritual gifts test, I was excited to see what it revealed.

And then I saw it. “Lowest score: Giving.

I actually blinked a few times, convinced I had read it wrong. That couldn’t be right. I was a giver! But as I sat with it, a quiet question surfaced:

“Are you really?”

I give my time. I give my skills. I give my encouragement. But money? That is where I hesitate.

I had all the right excuses. “I’ll give more when I have more.” “I’m being responsible.” “God knows my heart.” But the truth is? I was afraid. I was scared to let go and to not have enough at the end of the day.

Then I thought back to my time in college. I had barely anything to my name, yet somehow, God always provided. I never went hungry, and my needs were met in ways I couldn’t have planned or imagined. So why, years later, was I still acting like I had to hold onto everything so tightly?

Maybe you get it. Maybe it is not money for you—maybe it’s time, love, effort. Maybe you tell yourself you will give when you have more, when it is easier, or when life settles down.

But here’s what I’m learning: generosity is not about having more. It is about trusting that God is already enough.

So, I will ask you the same question: Where is fear holding you back from trusting Him today?

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.”

Matthew 5:14-15

Melinda barely had time to breathe, much less think. Wednesday nights were always a rush—digging for her other shoe, grabbing her Bible, texting her cousin to make sure she was coming to youth.

Hey, you coming? she typed quickly before tapping the call button.

“Hello?”

Melinda frowned. It was not her cousin.

“Uh—sorry, wrong number!” she blurted, heat rising to her face.

A pause. Then a quiet, “Okay,” before the call disconnected.

Melinda let out a breath and shook her head. Well, that was awkward. Time to move on.

But she couldn’t.

It was like something in her heart caught on the moment, unwilling to let it slip away. Before she knew what she was doing, she opened the message thread and started typing.

Hey, I know I called by mistake, but I was actually inviting my cousin to church. You’re welcome to come too if you want.

She stared at the screen. This was weird, right? But still, she pressed send.

Three dots appeared.

Then a message that said,

“You don’t even know me, but I needed this. I was planning to end my life tonight. But your message feels like a sign, and I think I need to come.”

That night the person on the other end showed up. And God met her there. And in a room full of people, God made sure she knew—You are seen. You are loved. You have hope.

Was that a wrong number? Not a chance. And it makes me wonder, how many moments like this do we brush past? How often do we let discomfort keep us from reaching out?

God is always moving. Always working. But sometimes, He is waiting on us to press send.