The Connection Corner

Out of the Box Answers from a Great God

Daily Devotional, Lauren Kitchens-Steward

Psalms 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Adoption has always been part of our family’s heartbeat. We had two children already—both adopted, both deeply loved. I would go to the ends of the earth for them, but tucked beneath all that joy was a desire I never spoke out loud.

I had always wanted to adopt a newborn, a baby from the very beginning. Though I didn’t really talk about it, I still whispered it to the Lord in passing.

My husband and I were both fifty-three. We were well past what most people would call “baby years.” Life was full. Our routines were finally starting to settle, but then the phone rang.

It was our Christian consultants. A baby had just been born, and they said the birth mother had asked for us.

I sat still. I think I forgot how to breathe.

She knew our age. She did not care. She said we were the ones she wanted.

And just like that, the thing I had quietly hoped for—the thing I thought might never happen—became real.

That birth mom’s trust became something more. It turned into a friendship. And that friendship has continued to grow.

That newborn is now six-years-old. His name is Chambers, and he still gets to see his birth mom every now and then. When he does, I just stand there watching him laugh, remembering how close I came to never knowing him.

I see a promise kept. I see a prayer answered. No it was not on my timeline, and it was not the way I expected. But it was answered in a way that proved God was listening the entire time.

Dear One, if you have a longing that feels too small to name or too impossible to see fulfilled—do not bury it. Hold it open. Offer it to the One who sees you clearly. He may not answer in the way you expect, but He is not bound by what makes sense.

He works outside the box, and sometimes, the answer comes wrapped in more love than you knew to ask for.

August 6, 2025/by Lauren Kitchens-Steward

How Do You Go from Liked to Loved?

Daily Devotional, Heart of the Artist

Ephesians 2:4-5 — “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

When my husband Christian and I first became boyfriend and girlfriend, I took on another role: FBI Investigator Sadie Rob.

I’d seen his Instagram so many times. But when I became Investigator Sadie, I started noticing stuff that I’d never really cared about before, including the girl he went to a party with.

All of a sudden, I noticed her in a different way. I spiraled as I thought about how much fun they must have had and how beautiful she was, with her blonde hair and blue eyes.

After my investigation I walked away concluding I was no longer good enough for the relationship. I figured I should do everybody a favor and exit. I’d save Christian the hassle.

Years earlier I’d been dating a guy, and somebody said my looks were not up to par compared to another girl he had previously dated. That really stuck with me.

It got in the way of me getting close to people. It wasn’t that others weren’t willing to love me; it was that I didn’t feel very lovable. It wasn’t that they weren’t willing to date me; it was that I didn’t feel good enough.

That little lie had been planted in my heart for years, and I almost let that affect my relationship with the person I would later marry. He was standing there pursuing me with love and respect.

I went to Christian and started telling him how I was feeling. He shared with me something very powerful that day. He said, “Yeah, those girls were attractive. However, I am captivated by you.”

At first it felt pretty odd to hear those words coming out of my boyfriend’s mouth, but then he said, “You can notice something is attractive, because the fact is, it’s attractive. But to be captivated means that you hold all my attention.”

That day I stopped investigating and rested in the security that he was captivated by me.

So many times we do this with God. He is loving us, pursuing us, and asking us to be in a relationship with Him. He has written a couple-thousand-page love letter to us, but we have to allow ourselves to be loved and captivated by Him.

We must begin to take God at His word. When we refuse to allow ourselves to feel loved, we stop a relationship from being able to grow. Be captivated by your Creator, and don’t lose sight of His gaze.

— Sadie Robertson Huff

August 5, 2025/by David Hall

God Never Skips Over You

Bri Dunn, Daily Devotional

Colossians 3:23–24 – Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.

Sunflower seeds, red dirt, and Gatorade. That was the theme of my childhood summers.

I can still smell the nacho cheese from the concession stand and see the red lips of other kids eating snowballs by the bleachers. Everything about those days stuck—on my cleats, in my memory, in who I was becoming.

Those days playing softball was where I learned how to work with others, how to win well, and how to lose without falling apart.

That is, I thought I had learned it until the all-star list went up.

We were all crowded around the bulletin board. I was bouncing on the balls of my feet, pretending not to care as much as I did. One by one, the names were called out. I leaned in.

And then it was over.

My name was not there.

I blinked, waited, and checked again. Maybe they skipped a line. Maybe someone forgot something. But they had not. They just… did not choose me.

I stood still. My face burned. I could feel my throat get tight. Everyone else was laughing and hugging. I just stared at the list offended. I had been one of the best on the team. At least, I thought I was.

By the time we got back to the car, I was quiet in that heavy way you are when you feel hurt. My arms were crossed, eyes out the window. I hoped no one would say anything.

But later on, my dad came to me, handed me my glove, and said, “Let’s get to work.” There was no lecture, no pity, just steady love.

So, I kept going.

That year I worked harder, not to prove them wrong, but to become someone who did not give up so easily. The next season, I was the starting pitcher.

Looking back now, I think God used that moment to teach me the kind of lesson you can’t learn when everyone is clapping for you. He used it to show me that being overlooked by people does not mean being unseen by Him.

If you are walking through something similar—feeling forgotten, wondering if any of it matters—please hear this. It does matter. You matter. You matter even when no one calls your name.

The invitation is not to quit or to prove them wrong. It is to put in the work, to trust who God says you are, and to grow like it is true.

Because it is.

August 4, 2025/by Bri Dunn