The Connection Corner

How Love Builds A Home

Daily Devotional, Lauren Kitchens-Steward

Proverbs 11:25 — “A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water.”

The first time Gloria saw them, they were sitting close together, five little boys with eyes too old for their years. They had been left behind, and no one wanted them because they came as a set.

She had no husband and no savings worth talking about, but she had love. She knew it was not meant to stay locked up in her heart. So, Gloria brought them home.

Segun came first. Then Tunde. Then the twins, Ikenna and Ifeanyi, who doubled the noise in the house overnight. Last was Chuka, the baby, with his wide grin and sticky fingers.

It was not easy. There were hospital visits. School fees that never seemed to end. Nights when the cupboards were nearly bare. But there was also laughter—so much laughter. There were rainy days when they danced barefoot in the yard. There were Sunday mornings filled with biscuits and gravy and the sound of gospel music pouring out the windows.

They grew up faster than she wanted them to. One became a builder. Another started a charity. One moved far away to teach. Two wore police badges. But no matter where they went, they always came back home.

Then one day, they told Gloria to close her eyes.

Segun took his mother’s hand. Gravel crunched under their shoes as they led her forward.

When Gloria opened her eyes, she saw it. A brand-new house.

Now her brand-new house.

“You gave us a home when no one else would,” Tunde said. “Now it is our turn.”

She held her hands close to her heart, tears forming in her eyes.

She saw that God never lets love come back empty. She had given with the little she had, and God gave her a life richer than she could have ever imagined.

And I cannot help but wonder—if love can do this in that mother’s corner of the world, what could it do in yours?

September 3, 2025/by Lauren Kitchens-Steward

Spark the Change, Sister

Daily Devotional, Sarah Hall

Luke 6:38 — “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

It was day one of the Live Original Conference. The covered plaza outside the Monroe civic center buzzed with the sound of women gathering, all coming to experience Jesus.

Knowing it would be a long day, I jumped into the concessions line to grab a drink. A few feet away, I spotted my friend Jade, and we started catching up.

The line moved slowly, but the conference was about to begin. When we finally reached the counter, the cashier told Jade they did not take Apple Pay. Her face fell. To get her drink, she would have to leave the line, find her debit card, and likely miss part of the opening event.

So I said, pulling out my card, “Don’t worry about it.”

She tried to say she would pay me back, but something inside nudged me to just help her—no strings attached.

I shook my head. “No, really. It’s on me.”

The next day, I found myself circling the merch booth, eyeing a hat I liked. I picked it up five times, then set it down again. Then I ran into Jade—already wearing that same hat.

I told her how much I liked it, and she smiled. “Do you want one?” she asked. Apparently, someone had gifted hers, and she wanted to do the same for me.

As I held that hat, I thought back to the concession line. It felt like a full circle moment.

No one planned it. No one kept score. But somehow, the kindness I gave away found its way back. That is the power of generosity—it does not stay in one place. It travels. It multiplies.

And it is never wasted. Sometimes the smallest spark can light up a whole community. God can use one act of generosity to cause a domino effect that shows back up when you least expect it.

This is the best part. You do not have to plan it. Someone just has to start it.

So why not you?

September 2, 2025/by Sarah Hall

Letting Go To Let Life Grow

Bri Dunn, Daily Devotional

Psalms 90:12 — “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

Sometimes, when the house is quiet and Lennox is napping, I find myself scrolling through my phone. My feed is full of “mom content”—sweet little videos of babies laughing or taking their first steps, with soft music and captions playing in the background.

At first, it feels comforting—a brief escape from responsibilities. But then the captions hit: “They’ll never be this little again.” “You only get eighteen summers.” “You’re going to miss this.”

And there it is—that sinking, anxious feeling in my stomach. I came here to relax, but instead I’m face to face with the truth that time is slipping through my fingers.

Then all the questions start: Am I doing enough? Am I making the most of these moments I will never get back?

It sounds so dramatic, but it honestly makes me sad.

The joy I feel playing with Lennox slowly shifts into a panic. Things will never be the same. But in one of those moments, God spoke to my heart.

“He’s supposed to grow. He’s supposed to change.”

I sat with that truth. Lennox growing and changing is proof that he is alive. Thinking about how the good times don’t last always ever steals the beauty of the “right now.”

I want to encourage you with the same thing too. Change is scary, but I believe the best thing we can do is surrender all the good things back to Jesus.

So, I’m practicing open hands.

I take in the sweetness, I thank God for it, and then I release it back to Him. I choose to love Lennox today, and to trust God with His tomorrow.

And maybe years from now, when he is taller than me, I’ll understand this better. The best way to keep a moment is to fully live it.

September 1, 2025/by Bri Dunn