The Connection Corner

Let The Gardener Work

John 15:1-2 — I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.

It’s just after sunrise, and I’m sitting on the balcony of my apartment with a blanket over my knees and a mug of coffee in my hands. The air is crisp enough to make me pull the blanket tighter.

Everything is still except for the gardener below, tending to the landscaping.

It’s the perfect time for honesty. I close my eyes and whisper the same prayer I’ve been bringing to God for what feels like forever.

“God, can you please just put me back together?”

I want to be whole. I wanted to be the way I remember being before life started chipping away at me.

I take a deep breath and open a book I love. On the pages, a quote from Jon Rodel catches my eye:

“What if, instead of breaking down, you are actually breaking through?”

Oh my goodness. That is so good. It makes me want to run around.

But it doesn’t stop there. It goes on to say, “God is peeling back the parts of us that we do not need anymore. The fear. The pride. The toxic relationships. The toxic actions that we have inside of us. The brokenness. The things that once held us together, but now hold us back. And in their place, God is building something new. You’re not changing. God says you’re becoming, becoming who I created you to be full of light, full of love, full of courage and grace.”

As I read, I thought about the gardener below pruning a rosebush.

From the outside, it looks cruel—cutting back healthy branches, stripping leaves away. But the gardener knows the blooms will come back brighter and stronger for it.

That’s how this feels. It’s like He’s peeling away the things that once held me together but now hold me back.

Now, I know that when my life feels like it is falling apart, God is still working on me. Some days, I still reach for the glue to try to put the petals back on the leaves. But more and more, I’m learning to leave my hands open. To let the Gardener work without rushing Him.

The coffee is cold by the time I finish thinking about these things. But you know what? I can’t help but smile.

September 29, 2025/by Brenda Price

When You Feel Alone

Bri Dunn, Daily Devotional

Matthew 28:20 – Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

I moved to Monroe for college in 2007 and didn’t know a single person. Not a soul.

The first few days were full of polite smiles from strangers I would never see again, and a lot of pretending I knew where I was going. So, when I heard about a worship night at ULM, I figured maybe this was my chance to meet people and begin to feel like I belonged.

When I got there, the place smelled of Johnny’s Pizza, Coke and Brookshires bakery cookies. I slid into a seat closer to the front ready for worship.

As excited as I was to worship, I was a little discouraged because, even here, no one really spoke to me. It seemed like everyone already had friends. On top of that, during worship, people were just sitting down, looking around, and unengaged. That is not what I am used to.

I thought to myself. “What planet am I on? Where am I?”

But then the band shifted into Kari Jobe’s “Revelation Song.” If you know it, you know how good it is.

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Holy, holy is He. Sing a new song to Him who sits on Heaven’s mercy seat”

The melody seemed to wrap around the room and fill the cracks where my loneliness had crept in. For those few moments, I wasn’t the new kid or the outsider. Even if nobody else noticed me, I knew the Lord did.

When the song ended, I stayed in my seat for a moment, letting it sink in. Then I walked back across campus. I still didn’t know anyone’s name and nobody knew mine, but I had that experience that would lift me up as I found my place in a new place.

And just like I felt that night, I hope today you’ll remember that even when you’re standing in a room full of strangers, you’re never really alone.

Lyrics

Verse:
Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain
Holy holy is He
Sing a new song to Him Who sits on
Heaven’s mercy seat

Chorus:
Holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings
You are my everything and I will adore You

Verse:
Clothed in rainbows of living color
Flashes of lightning rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor strength and glory and power be
To You the only wise King

Verse:
Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your name
Jesus Your name is power, breath and living water
Such a marvelous mystery

September 28, 2025/by Bri Dunn

Letting Go of Baggage

Daily Devotional, Tammi Arender

Psalms 55:22 — Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

I am telling you. I need Jesus and a nap. Probably in that order.

It started in the airport with the smell of burnt coffee drifting from a kiosk, and the fluorescent hum overhead making everyone look tired before we’d even boarded. My gate was a picture of modern travel fatigue: people slumped in chairs, scrolling their phones, and clutching paper cups.

I was supposed to be in Baltic, South Dakota by nightfall. Instead, I got delay after delay. For hours, I just shuffled from one end of the concourse to another, checked my phone, and watched the same janitor push the same mop across the same patch of floor.

By the time the final cancellation came, I had already stopped hoping. I trudged back through the airport disappointed.

But you know what’s coming next, right? My luggage had already made it to South Dakota without me.

I travel a lot, so I have learned to pack light. But that one piece of luggage had my whole life in it (at least everything I think of as essential).

In the days that followed, I realized this debacle of losing my suitcase, in a way, was a good thing. It helped me to remember and reflect on how I carry other kinds of baggage with me everywhere I go. Things like worry, expectation, and stress,

I came home lighter than I’d expected, and it wasn’t because I didn’t have my suitcase. No, it was because I had a bed that smelled like my favorite detergent, pajamas that fit perfectly, and the relief of realizing that life is rarely as heavy as we make it.

Sometimes losing what you thought you couldn’t live without is the exact thing you need to finally run your race well. The weight falls off, and your arms and heart feel free for the first time in years.

So maybe today is a good day to consider what baggage you’ve been dragging around. What might happen if you simply set it aside, give it to God, and walk forward unburdened?

September 27, 2025/by Tammi Arender