I’ll be honest—when the sermon started, I was watching the livestream more out of habit than hunger. I was traveling, sitting cross-legged in the truck seat with my pink glasses slowly but surely sliding down my nose, coffee in hand, and already half-distracted by all of the bumps in the road.

Then the pastor opened with the one thing guaranteed to make me roll my eyes—sympathy pandering. You know the kind—“times are tough, people are struggling, give what you can.” My guard went up. I thought, Here we go again, this is not my word today. Pass the virtual offering plate and let’s move on.

But then—like God always does—it hit me sideways.

“Give, and it will be given to you.” —Luke 6:38

At first, I thought, cute verse for a stewardship campaign. But as he unpacked it, my heart shifted. Because this wasn’t really about tithing or donations—it was about trust. About loosening the white-knuckle grip we have when life feels uncertain.

And here’s the kicker. I didn’t realize how tightly I had been holding on until the verse landed.

About four months ago, my husband’s company shut down overnight. One day, he had a steady job. The next day, nothing. We went from making long grocery lists to making mental calculations about what bill could wait. He searched, applied, interviewed—jobs came, but none matched the stability we had lost. It was survival mode, plain and simple.

But then God did what He always does even more than we asked for, better than we expected. My husband was offered a position that not only replaced what he lost but opened the door for something bigger—something that lets us plan, not just scrape by. We’ve lived so long from day to day, week to week, month to month. Now, we’re learning how to think in terms of years, of future, of legacy.

And Luke 6:38 suddenly wasn’t just a stewardship verse—it was my reminder. Give God your fear, your grip, your plan. Watch Him give back stability, peace, and yes, even opportunity.

The sermon wasn’t for me—until it was.

Sometimes God lets us tune out just long enough to get comfortable—and then drops His word right in our lap when we least expect it. And when He does? It shifts everything.

So if today’s verse, sermon, or devotion feels like it’s for “someone else,” don’t count yourself out too quickly. You never know when it’s about to land sideways—straight into your story.

💌 Grace & Sass,

Natalie💛