The Connection Corner

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

Running Into Grace

Uncategorized

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Salina never stayed in one place too long—jobs, relationships, even cities. Her calendar was full of concerts, road trips, and late nights that blurred. She liked it that way. No one depended on her, and she depended on no one.

Until one spring afternoon, something felt… off.

She was halfway through a run, earbuds in, thoughts drifting, when a wave of nausea stopped her mid-stride. She doubled over on the side of the trail. Her heart was pounding for a different reason now.

Later that evening, she waited, then took a test.

Two red lines. She was pregnant.

She stared at the ceiling long after midnight, the weight of the future pressing down like never before. What kind of future am I building for this child? Is there more to life than this? What do I really believe?

The questions scared her, but they also stirred something inside that refused to settle.

So, she walked into a church she had passed a hundred times before. She slipped into the back row. The songs were unfamiliar. The people were strangers, but something about it made her stay.

Weeks passed. Then one Sunday, someone shared the story of Jesus with such simple clarity, it disarmed her. She heard about His love that covered everything—regret, restlessness, rebellion.

When the invitation at the end of service came to receive Christ, she said yes. She let Him in.

Now, two years later, her daughter toddles barefoot through her grandmother’s kitchen while Salina laces up her running shoes again.

Midway through the run, she stops. Not because she is sick again—but because it is Mother’s Day. And she remembers.

God had met her on that sidewalk when she least expected it. He saved her not just from her past, but for her future.

Perhaps that is what you need to hear today—that the same God is still present, still near, and still ready to meet you exactly where you are.

All you have to do is stop, ask, and let Him in.

May 11, 2025/by Linda Meyers