The Connection Corner

Made for Growth

2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

I did not plan on getting emotional—it just happened. I was scrolling through my phone for a recipe and stumbled across a photo from the day we brought our daughter home from the hospital.

I sat on the edge of the bed and just stared at it. I could almost smell that sweet newborn scent again, feel the warmth of her against my chest. She was so small. I remember being scared to hold her too tightly, afraid I might do something wrong. I had no idea what I was doing, but somehow, I knew I had never loved anything more.

That picture could have been taken yesterday—and yet, here we are.

She’s walking now. Babbling. Exploring every corner of the living room with that determined little look in her eyes. One week she is clumsily gripping her bottle, and the next, she is waving at strangers in the grocery store.

It is breathtaking about watching someone grow right in front of you. The days feel long while you are in them—but looking back, it’s all a blink.

And then it hit me: if she is changing that quickly, maybe I am too.

It is easy to miss your own growth. I catch myself measuring life by where I think I should be while forgetting how far I have already come. We tend to believe that if we don’t feel progress, it must not be happening. But just because we cannot see something growing does not mean it isn’t.

God is still working in me. Even on quiet days. Even when I feel stuck. He is molding me into the person He has always intended me to be.

Growth is not a sprint from one milestone to the next. It is made of little choices. It is thos4 small, quiet turns of the heart toward trust. And just like Reese is becoming more of who she is meant to be every day… so are you and me.

You are not who you were six months ago. Or last year. You are not finished, either, or the work God is doing in you—right now—is not wasted. Every moment of growth matters, even when you do not feel it yet.

May 9, 2025/by Sarah Hall

Still On Mission

Daily Devotional, Lauren Kitchens-Steward

2 Timothy 4:5 “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

I don’t know how else to put it—my mother could talk to a fence post and get it saved before sundown.

Now I mean that with every ounce of admiration. She had this way of making you feel like you mattered, like you weren’t just someone she passed in the aisle at Dollar General. And she did not need a big crowd to share what was in her heart. As long as there was breath in her lungs, she was going to make sure you knew about Jesus.

Then, one day, the doctors used words none of us ever wanted to hear: breast cancer.

I braced myself. I thought, well, maybe she will take this time to rest. But if anything, she got louder. Not in volume, but in purpose. That hospital bed turned into her mission field. The IV pole might as well have been a microphone.

Every nurse, every doctor, and even the folks checking her vitals at 2 a.m.— they all heard the same sweet gospel. Jesus loves you.

Now, some folks smiled politely and scooted right out the door, but a few lingered, asked questions, and let their guards down. There she was, weak in body but strong in spirit, doing what she was made to do.

That is what sticks with me now. She didn’t waste her pain. She handed it to God like a basket of loaves and fish and said, “Do something with this, Lord.” And He did.

So, I need to tell you this, dear ones: just because life looks messy does not mean it’s meaningless. Just because you are hurting does not mean you are useless. Your struggle might be the very soil where someone else’s faith takes root.

Stay open. Keep sowing. Because even in a hospital gown, hooked up to machines, my mom showed me that Jesus still shines.

And family, He can shine through you too.

May 8, 2025/by Lauren Kitchens-Steward

When God Gives You Pizza

Daily Devotional, Lisa Williams

Isaiah 65:24 – “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.”

Bonita was not in the mood to talk to anyone. She just wanted to pick up the pizza and go. One pizza. The cheapest one they had. She had double-checked the change in her purse before ordering just hoping she wouldn’t come up short.

On the outside, it probably looked like a normal day, but Bonita knew what it cost her to be there. Pride. Worry. Weariness. Trying to feed a family on fumes never got easier.

At the restaurant, she waited in the car, watching people walk in and out. Then a young employee stepped out, holding not one, but two boxes.

Her stomach sank. She didn’t want a scene. “Oh—I think there’s been a mistake,” she said gently. “I only paid for one.”

But the girl just smiled. “This one’s free. It was an extra. We were just going to throw it away, but we would rather one of our customers had it instead.”

Bonita didn’t know what to say. She just took the boxes and tried not to let the tears fall until she was by herself. No, she didn’t cry over pizza. She cried over the timing. The tenderness. She cried because it felt like God had looked right into her situation and said, I’ve got you.

She did not asked for two pizzas, but God gave her an extra one anyway.

Friend, it is easy to believe we are invisible in our everyday struggles—but God sees every detail. He even hears the prayers we don’t say out loud. He gives what we did not think to ask for. You are not forgotten. And your needs are not too small for Him to meet.

May 7, 2025/by Lisa Williams