The Connection Corner

Free to Forgive

Matthew 18:21-22 – Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

We weren’t trying to be extravagant. We just wanted to build a simple life together. So there we were, walking hand in hand through aisles of home goods, scanning dish towels and cutting boards, picturing a quiet little future—dinner at our own table, slow mornings, a couch we could call ours.

The joy was real. But I wasn’t prepared for what it would feel like to be given so much.

When the showers came, the gifts piled up faster than we could open them. We unwrapped things we had picked out together—yes—but each one felt different when it was placed in our hands by people who cared about us. I felt overwhelmed, honestly. Undeserving. These weren’t things we earned. They were acts of kindness. Unmerited gifts. And they taught me something before we ever used a single one.

Now, a few years in, marriage feels less like a gift registry and more like a full-time lesson in patience. Bills arrive. Communication gets messy. Some weekends feel more like negotiations than rest. And it turns out, even when you love someone deeply, forgiveness does not always come naturally.

But that’s what makes grace so powerful—it is still undeserved.

Two years into marriage, I still think about those boxes. We use the dishes. We burn the candle someone gave us. And we’ve also had the hard talks. The moments when we don’t see eye to eye. The ones where forgiveness is not easy or quick. It can feel easier to hold onto frustration than to lay it down.

But then I remember: someone once gave me something I didn’t deserve. And that someone else—Jesus— paid the ultimate price for me to receive it. Unmerited forgiveness.

That’s what forgiveness is. A gift. Not cheap, not convenient, and certainly not deserved. But freely given. And when I think about how deeply I’ve been forgiven, it softens something in me. It helps me step toward love again, even when pride wants to stay put.

You have the power to give someone what they didn’t earn—just like it was given to you. Grace does not ignore the hurt; it just refuses to be defined by it. What might happen if you gave that kind of love today?

70 X 7 by CHRIS AUGUST | Listen Now

[Verse 1]
I’ve been living in this house here
Since the day that I was born
These walls have seen me happy
But most of all they’ve seen me torn
They’ve heard the screaming matches
That made a family fall apart
They’ve had a front row seat
To the breaking of my heart

[Chorus 1]
Seven times, seventy times
I’ll do what it takes to make it right
I thought the pain was here to stay
But forgiveness made a way
Seven times, seventy times
There’s healing in the air tonight
I’m reaching up to pull it down
Gonna wrap it all around

[Verse 2]
I remember running down the hallway
Playin’ hide and seek
I didn’t know that I was searching
For someone to notice me
I felt alone and undiscovered
And old enough to understand
Just when I’m supposed to be learning to love
You let me down again

[Chorus 1]
Seven times, seventy times
I’ll do what it takes to make it right
I thought the pain was here to stay
But forgiveness made a way
Seven times, seventy times
There’s healing in the air tonight
I’m reaching up to pull it down
Gonna wrap it all around

[Bridge]
I lost count of the ways you let me down
But no matter how many times
You weren’t around
I’m alright now
God picked up my heart and helped me through
And shined a light on the one thing left to do
And that’s forgive you
I forgive you

[Interlude]
Seven times, seventy times
If that’s the cost, I’ll pay the price

[Chorus 2]
Seven times, seventy times
I’ll do what it takes to make it right
I thought the pain was here to stay
But forgiveness made a way
Seven times, seventy times
There’s healing in this house tonight
I’m reaching up to pull it down
Gonna wrap it all around
Yeah, I’m gonna wrap it all around

[Outro]
I’ve been living in this house here
Since the day that I was born

Writers: Ed Cash, Chris August

May 23, 2025/by Sarah Hall

How We Used to Trust

Daily Devotional, David Hall

Matthew 18:3 – “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The best days started with a camper door swinging open and bare feet hitting dirt. Jimmy Davis State Park was our whole world in the summer, and we ruled it like royalty—with bike helmets too loose and hearts too full to care.

We rode fast, never cautious. We skidded through puddles at the boat ramp, climbed every tree we could reach, and made friends without asking names. No schedules, no screens, no fences. Just the sweet, wild space of being young and alive.

By evening, we’d gather around picnic tables, smelling like sun and lake water, drawn in by the scent of burgers on the grill. The stars blinked on overhead like they were proud of us.

Those days left a mark. Not just in the photo albums, but deep in my memory—because we weren’t just having fun. We were free. Fully alive, fully ourselves, and deeply certain that we were safe and cared for.

And I wonder… why did we stop living like that?

The world is louder now. More guarded. And yet I still catch myself longing for something I can’t quite name. Until I remember: that sense of freedom was never about the campground—it was about trust.

That’s what children do best. They trust. Fully. Freely. Without trying to control what’s next.

Jesus once said the kingdom belongs to people like that. People who still dare to believe before they see.

So maybe this isn’t just nostalgia. Maybe it’s a reminder. That childlike trust is not something we grow out of—it’s something we’re called back to.

And maybe it’s not too late to live like that again.

May 22, 2025/by David Hall

From Frustration to Fulfillment

Daily Devotional, Linda Meyers

Psalms 34:17-18 – “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

She hit send—and then just sat there, staring at the screen.

Adriene had filled out so many applications that the process felt mechanical. But this one broke her. She was tired of pretending she wasn’t falling apart.

The tears came before she could stop them. She buried her face in her hands.

Six months ago, her husband left. The silence he left behind was deafening. Her grief bled into her job until she lost that, too. And now she was trying—again—to piece something back together. But the trying felt pointless.

That night, something shifted. She didn’t talk herself out of the emotion. She didn’t tell herself to be strong. Instead, she walked to the side of her bed, knelt on the floor, and told the truth.

“God, I don’t know what to do. I need Your help. Please—just put me where I’m needed.”

It wasn’t eloquent. But it was real.

And something about that moment—raw, unfiltered surrender—opened the door to what came next.

Within weeks, Adriene got the call. A job that fit her perfectly. A schedule that let her care for her kids. A sense of purpose she hadn’t felt in months.

But the real turning point wasn’t the job.

It was the prayer.

The moment she stopped pushing and started trusting. The moment she stopped talking herself into hope and just brought her whole weary heart before God.

THAT IS WHAT CHANGED EVERYTHING!

If you are standing at the end of yourself, trying to hold the pieces, please hear this: You are not forgotten. The same God who met Adriene on the carpet can meet you right where you are. You do not have to prove anything. Just be honest. God’s might is matched only by His tenderness. He can carry what you cannot.

May 21, 2025/by Linda Meyers