The Connection Corner

Healing Hidden in Hardship

Romans 8:28 — And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.

November 2023 began like any other month—until one phone call changed everything.

When I answered, I found out that my husband, Chris, had been in a head-on collision. Both of his feet were broken. In an instant, life got hard. Really hard.

It was hard because you hate to see someone you love struggle. Chris is at his best when he’s serving others, and now he was the one needing help.

But he handled it with more grace than I think I would have. But even for a man of deep faith, I knew there were days when he sat in the quiet, wondering what God was doing behind the scenes.

I prayed constantly—not just for healing, but that God would use this season for something greater.

Now, two years later, praise God, Chris can walk again and is thriving.

But just a few months ago, as I was dropping off our son at daycare, I noticed his teacher, Ms. Linda, with her arm in a cast. She’s the kind of woman whose joy usually transforms a room, but that morning her face told another story.

She couldn’t pick up the babies, change them, or do any of the things that normally make her feel alive.

I knew Chris would be stopping by during his lunch break, so I prayed that God would give him the right words to encourage her.

When he called me later, I could tell the conversation had gone well. He said he shared a few doctor recommendations, but more importantly, he got to tell her he understood what it feels like to feel purposeless and to be unable to do the things you once took for granted. And he got to encourage her with the word of God.

What an answer to prayer.

And maybe that’s the thing. What if brokenness is really a bridge to healing? Did God break Chris’s feet? No. But He didn’t waste what he went through either.

Maybe the lessons God is teaching you in your darkest seasons are really meant to help light the way for others in theirs?

September 17, 2025/by Bri Dunn

When God Whispers

Daily Devotional, Tammi Arender

Proverbs 22:17 — Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge.

There are few things that test your patience like someone’s quirks. I have a friend who is just plain loud. And I do not mean “occasionally raises their voice” loud. I mean loud like a kitchen blender with no lid. Loud at breakfast, loud at lunch, loud even after the coffee wears off.

I will admit, I used to get aggravated. Sure, I knew my friend was a little hard of hearing, but (let’s be honest) I think the volume made them feel important. How hard could it be to use your inside voice?

Over time, I realized I was not proud of my attitude. And the truth hit me: in some ways, I do the exact same thing. We all want to feel noticed. We all want to matter. Nobody likes feeling invisible.

But that’s not really where I am going with this.

Later on, I was scrolling on my phone, and a caption struck me like lightning. It said, “If you really want to get someone’s attention, whisper.”

And it made me think about God. He could shout over every voice in the world if He wanted to. But more often than not, He whispers. He does not push His way into my attention span. He waits for me to draw near and talks to me in a still small voice.

I thought about how a whisper cuts through the noise, how it pulls you closer and forces you to focus. A whisper is not something you can half-hear. It demands attention.

That thought changed things for me. It made me want to change my own communication habits. What’s more, it made me want to start leaning in more—really listening— to God and to people.

Changing that one thing really helped me treat my friend better. I still hear her, but I have learned to wait for the pauses. The spaces in between. Past the quirks. In the silence. That is where you can hear what people are really saying.

It also helped me grow in my relationship with Jesus.

So, if I can give you one piece of advice today, focus on the best part. Listen to the whispers.

September 16, 2025/by Tammi Arender

Heroes Made in Hard Places

Daily Devotional

James 1:12 — God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

I knew a real-life hero.

Growing up in downtown Tupelo, I had a pal named Lyle who lived a few streets over. Lyle and I were thick as thieves since we were knee high to a tadpole. We spent endless days running wild through the weeds, and I think I enjoyed those adventures as much as playing with my Barbies.

But even as a kid, the thing that stuck with me was Lyle’s dad—the colonel.

Colonel Carlyle “Smitty” Harris was a man we all talked about like a legend. The thing that struck me most was that his boy, Lyle, hadn’t even met him yet. The Colonel was a top gun fighter pilot way before we even knew that term, and at the time, he was a prisoner of war.

See, during the Vietnam War, his plane was shot down. He had to eject and was immediately captured. For eight years, he was beaten to a pulp, paraded through enemy streets, and thrown into a prison that felt like hell itself.

But in that terrible place, Smitty never quit. Like Paul, he found a way to rise above the pain, praising God through it. He even used a secret tap code to remind fellow prisoners that they were not alone.

I cannot even imagine what those years were like—the fear, the pain, the endless waiting. But Colonel Smitty held onto hope.

Finally, the day everyone had so fervently prayed for arrived. He was triumphantly rescued by American troops. I will never forget watching Lyle meet the father he had only known through photographs and stories. What a day!

If that does not sound like the best movie script ever, I do not know what does.

That day made it clear—heroes are not born with capes. No, the hero’s cape is woven in the hard places.

So what if your toughest days are actually telling a greater story? What if God uses the way you endure them as the very thing that points someone else to the truest hero of all?

September 15, 2025/by Lauren Kitchens-Steward