The Connection Corner

Help Is Already on the Way

Daily Devotional, Lauren Kitchens-Steward

Psalms 40:2 – “He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.”

The morning seemed like any other—peaceful, calm, and routine. But then, out of nowhere, chaos struck.

Two workers at a chocolate factory in Pennsylvania found themselves in a situation no one could have expected. They were waist-deep in a vat of thick, swirling chocolate.

At first, it didn’t feel real. They both slipped and thought it was a simple mistake, something that could be laughed off later. But as they tried to move, the chocolate transformed from an innocent, sweet substance into a gooey trap, pulling them deeper and deeper.

Fear set in quickly. They tried to reach the edges, to find something solid to hold onto, but the chocolate was relentless. The sticky, suffocating mass seemed to mock their every move, and desperation crept in. What if they didn’t make it out?

Thankfully, help did come, but it was not easy. Firefighters couldn’t just grab them and pull them to safety. No, they had to cut through the vat. It was messy, but it was effective.

In the end, the men were safe. No harm done. But the memory was haunting. How easy is it to get stuck in life and not know where to turn?

I can’t count how many times I have been there—overwhelmed and desperate for a way out. When life wraps around us like that, we panic. We try to fix things on our own, and the more we struggle, the worse it seems.

But here’s the truth: help is on the way, even when it feels like the situation is hopeless. Just like those workers had no way out on their own, help came through.

So, if you’re stuck, if you’re feeling trapped, know this: you are not alone. Don’t give up, and don’t fight alone. Reach out to the Jesus. His help is sure even when you can’t see it yet.

His word is true, and His love is constant. When we reach out to Him, He answers. He promises to pull you from the muck and place your feet on solid ground.

July 17, 2025/by Lauren Kitchens-Steward

Peace Starts With Perspective

Daily Devotional, Sarah Hall

Psalms 107:1 — “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!”

The AC gave out in the middle of a Louisiana summer afternoon, which is just about the worst timing possible. I was in our bedroom, stuffing pajamas into a suitcase and trying not to lose my cool, emotionally and physically.

We were packing up to stay at my husband’s parents’ house for a few days. While our house was basically a sauna, theirs at least had working air.

I was grumbling under my breath as I packed. This was not just about busted AC. I was tired of things not going smoothly and the endless to-do lists that never shrunk. I was frustrated from feeling stuck in places I thought I would have outgrown by now.

It was like the broken AC had cracked open a door I had been trying to hold shut.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, suitcase half-zipped, and started praying. It was not the sweet kind of prayers. No, it was an honest, messy pouring out of everything I was carrying. I told God how tired I was, how heavy it all felt.

In the quiet that followed, I felt Him meet me there, not with shame but with clarity. He helped me notice what I had missed in my storm of frustration: my complaining was not changing anything, but it was changing me.

I realized my peace was slipping through my fingers, and in its place, distress was robbing me of joy. In that moment I remembered: my family was safe, we were loved, and we had extended family willing to opening their home to us. Oh, the heat was real, but so was the goodness I had been missing in my spiral.

I could keep circling that same drain of frustration, or I could climb out (slowly, but intentionally) by choosing gratitude.

So, I took a breath, counted ten, and started counting the good. Not out loud, just in my heart. And I could feel it already—something in me softening.

Friends, gratitude may not fix your circumstance, but it reshapes the soul. It steadies you, lifts you head, and clears the fog. So, if you are feeling stuck in what is not right, maybe what you need is not a change in situation, but a change in perspective.

July 16, 2025/by Sarah Hall

Running Back to Love

Daily Devotional, Tammi Arender

Romans 8:38-39 – “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I wasn’t always the frilly-dress type. When I was eleven, I was happiest with a BB gun in my hand, barefoot in the backyard, trying to see how many things I could hit before supper.

My daddy had built our barbecue grill out of a 55-gallon drum. It was welded together like a tank and sat right next to the sliding glass door leading into our living room.

For some reason I decided it would be a good idea to aim at that old drum grill.

So, I aimed, I fired, and I missed.

That BB zipped past the grill and hit the sliding glass door square-on. It exploded and shattered into a kaleidoscope of a million pieces. The bang rang out across the whole yard, and my stomach flipped.

I dropped the gun and took off running, full speed, to my friend Tracy’s house next door. Now, we lived out in the country so her house was about half a mile away. But I decided that I would now need to live with Tracy and her family. I knew Mom and Dad were going to be furious.

You can guess what happened next. Tracy’s mama called mine. And Mama, in the most calm, matter-of-fact voice, said, “Send her back.”

I walked home slowly. Shoulders tight. I was ready to pay the piper, and I figured I had it coming. But what met me was not the fury I expected—it was love.

Sure, my parents were upset, but they wrapped me up in their arms and said, “That glass can be replaced. You cannot.”

There are some lessons you carry into adulthood, and for me, that is one of them.

I still mess up and still flinch when I know I have let someone down. But the older I get, the more I see it—God is not watching from a distance, waiting to punish me. He is the One who meets me at the door with love. Every time.

He knows what shattered, and He still wants you.

You are not replaceable. You are not forgotten. You are loved beyond measure, and you always have a place to come home.

July 15, 2025/by Tammi Arender