The Connection Corner

Reigniting Your Spark

James 4:8 – “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”

Amber could hide it like a pro. She still smiled at neighbors, still made small talk in the grocery store, still answered “we’re doing good” when people asked. But for five years, she had been spiritually running on fumes.

She still believed in God. But the closeness she once felt? That spark that once lit up her faith? It had been gone a long time.

She missed the fire—when Scripture stirred something deep, when prayer felt like a lifeline, when church brought peace instead of pressure.

Now, she just felt tired. Spiritually numb.

She blamed it on busyness, the weight of motherhood, and just… life. But underneath it all, there was this quiet ache. A question she didn’t dare say out loud: Had God left her behind?

It wasn’t until one late night, sitting beside her husband, that the truth slipped out.

“Do you think we’ll ever get back to where we were—with God?”

He paused. “I hope so,” he said. “I miss it.”

A few days later, driving to the store, Amber flipped through radio stations. A familiar song caught her ear. The lyrics hit something raw in her:

Every time I tried to make it on my own
Every time I tried to stand and start to fall…
There was Jesus.

She told her husband that night. They started talking about faith again. One small step turned into another. Prayer. Scripture. A new church.

And months later, there she stood—volunteering in the lobby of a Christian concert hosted by the same radio station that helped her find her way back. She watched people walk in—some smiling wide, others quietly searching. She had been one of them.

Now, she was someone new. Someone healed. Whole in a way she never thought possible.

And she couldn’t keep it to herself. Because if God could reignite her faith after all the silence… maybe He could do it for someone else.

Maybe He could do it for you.

If you’ve been feeling far, worn out, or just unsure—please hear this:

You don’t have to find your way back alone. Just turn your ear toward Him. Even now, He’s near. And sometimes, all it takes is the smallest spark to set your heart on fire again.

Lyrics

Every time I tried to make it on my own
Every time I tried to stand and start to fall
And all those lonely roads that I have travelled on
There was Jesus

When the life I built came crashing to the ground
When the friends I had were nowhere to be found
I couldn’t see it then but I can see it now
There was Jesus

In the waiting, in the searching
In the healing and the hurting
Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces
Every minute, every moment
Where I’ve been and where I’m going
Even when I didn’t know it or couldn’t see it
There was Jesus

For this man who needs amazing kind of grace (mm)
For forgiveness at a price I couldn’t pay (mm)
I’m not perfect so I thank God every day
There was Jesus (there was Jesus)

In the waiting, in the searching
In the healing and the hurting
Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces
Every minute, every moment
Where I’ve been and where I’m going
Even when I didn’t know it or couldn’t see it
There was Jesus

On the mountain, in the valleys (there was Jesus)
In the shadows of the alleys (there was Jesus)
In the fire, in the flood (there was Jesus)
Always is and always was
No, I never walk alone (never walk alone)
You are always there

In the waiting, in the searching
In the healing and the hurting
Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces
Every minute (Every minute), every moment (every moment)
Where I’ve been and where I’m going
Even when I didn’t know it or couldn’t see it
There was Jesus
There was Jesus
There was Jesus
There was Jesus

Songwriters: Jonathan Smith / Casey Beathard / Zachary Williams
There Was Jesus lyrics © Little Louder Songs, Be Essential Songs, Seven Ring Circus Songs

May 14, 2025/by Linda Meyers

The Danger We Didn’t See

Daily Devotional, Lauren Kitchens-Steward

Psalm 138:7 – Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.

“You’re kidding me,” I said out loud, holding my phone closer like I had read it wrong.

But no. It was true.

A woman overseas had been living out in the country, minding her own business. One day she stumbled across this heavy piece of metal in her yard. She figured it would make a good tool, so she started using it. For everything. I mean, she was fixing fences, breaking up ice, pounding in nails—all with what she thought was a trusty hammer.

Then two decades later some construction workers came through, saw her using it, and just about had a fit.

“Ma’am,” they told her, “you’re holding a live grenade!”

Let me say that again. She had a live grenade. In her hand. For two decades.

And it never exploded.

And I thought: “Lord, how many times have You kept me from something I didn’t even know could destroy me?”

Because let’s be honest. We carry our own version of that grenade. We carry things that feel comfortable and familiar like patterns, bad relationships, or ideas. And we swing it around, not knowing it could take us down.

But somehow, we made it through.

That is not luck. That is the hand of a God who sees danger even when we don’t.

We thank God for the miracles we can see, but what about the ones we will never know happened? The words we did not say. The calls we did not answer. The accident we did not get in.

Family, I don’t know what you are carrying today, but I know this: you are not walking through this world unprotected. Not for one second.

So, take comfort. The One who sees it all is already handling what you never saw coming. He loves you that much.

May 13, 2025/by Lauren Kitchens-Steward

When Strength Fails

Daily Devotional, David Hall, Heart of the Artist

Psalm 73:26 – My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

It all changed without warning.

At fifteen-years-old, Lauren Daigle dreamed in full color—wide-open skies, big stages, and a voice that could carry for miles. But then one morning, she couldn’t get out of bed. No fever. No clear diagnosis. Just a kind of tired that made her body feel like lead and her dreams feel impossible.

Days blurred into weeks. Then into months. Her world shrank to the walls of her home. The girl who used to sing without stopping could barely whisper now. Doctors ran tests and offered guesses, but nothing brought answers. Just more waiting. More silence.

And honestly, she started to wonder if her dream had been lost forever.

One afternoon, Lauren’s mom suggested voice lessons. Not to prep for a tour or audition, of course, but just to sing again for the sake of singing.

It seemed laughable at first. What good was a voice lesson when she could barely speak above a whisper? But something in her wanted to try. She wanted to feel human again, so she said yes.

It was slow. It was shaky. Her voice cracked, and her confidence trembled. But she kept going. And with each lesson, something started to wake up. Her voice didn’t come back all at once—but breath by breath, it grew stronger. And so did she.

Maybe you too are in that kind of season right now—where everything feels stalled, and your strength feels gone. Maybe you have let go of a dream because you are tired of hoping.

But if you can still whisper—just barely—you’re not finished. God still has a plan for you.

May 12, 2025/by David Hall