Month: May 2026

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PWTE Daily Devotion

The Tooth Fairy

By Katy Mariotti

The Love of a Parent

“For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?”
2 Corinthians 12:14b-15, English Standard Version

As a parent, I find the tooth fairy gig to be terrifying.  Whose idea was it to give children money for a tooth while they’re sleeping?  And we don’t even hide them under the pillow, (which would be worse), but it’s still right by their heads.  My children use tooth pillows that my own mom made when we were little.  One time my daughter put her tooth pillow in such an out-of-the-way spot that my husband had to do some Mission Impossible-style moves in order to access it.  Now when my kids lose a tooth I’m filled with anxiety!

There is so much as parents that we do for our children.  As a mom now of three, I find that just to try to get things done, anything that’s for me personally gets shoved to the side.  And that’s not me being selfless, that’s just the reality of life right now.  Even the things that need to get done I don’t feel like I have time to do, so things for myself are far down on the priority list.

But look at this little set-up my son made for the tooth fairy recently.  Not only did he leave the tooth in his tooth pillow, but he made her a present, wrote her a note, and left her a pen to write back.  My heart swells at the dearness of it.  So did I stay up until I knew he was asleep, sneak up to give him his dollar and write a note?  You bet I did, to give him that spark of joy and magic in the morning.  Because I love him.

As Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.”  I hope today on this Mother’s Day, we can be grateful for all that parents have done, sacrificially and gladly, for the blessings of their children, and all that God the Father has done for us, sacrificially and gladly.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Faithful in the Planting

by Anna Haiar

Seed, Soil, Surrender!

“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” 
1 Corinthians 3:7, English Standard Version

The church in Corinth was struggling with division. Some believers proudly claimed they followed Paul, while others insisted they followed Apollos. Personalities had begun to overshadow the message itself. In response, the apostle Paul gently corrected them by reminding the church that human leaders are simply servants carrying out God’s work. One plants. Another waters. But neither has the power to make spiritual life grow. That is where Paul writes these words in 1 Corinthians 3:7.

There is something deeply freeing about this verse. We live in a world obsessed with results. We want visible progress, measurable success, and immediate outcomes. We want our efforts to “work.” But Paul reminds us that faithfulness and growth are not the same thing. Faithfulness is our responsibility. But growth belongs to God.

 Teachers feel this tension. Parents feel it. Friends sharing the gospel feel it. We pour ourselves into people and situations, hoping to see change. Sometimes we plant seeds through encouragement, truth, discipline, or kindness. Sometimes we water those seeds through prayer and consistency. But often, we do not immediately see the fruit.

That does not mean God is absent. In fact, much of God’s work happens quietly underground before anything breaks through the surface. A seed does not become a tree overnight. Roots grow long before branches appear. Paul’s reminder to the Corinthians is also a reminder to us: we are not called to control outcomes. We are called to obedience. God alone changes hearts. God alone brings life. God alone causes growth in His perfect timing.

So today, do not grow weary in planting good seeds. Do not lose heart in the watering. The God who sees every unseen act of faithfulness is still working beneath the surface. And when growth finally comes, the glory will belong exactly where it should — to God alone.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

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PWTE Daily Devotion

The Ever-Present Cross

by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Experiencing Grace When Distracted

I needed to change my morning devotional routine (change can be good).

For several years now that routine included reading a psalm, some other Scripture, then a proverb from the book of Proverbs. Daily contact with God’s Word is important and I feel a loss in my soul during those periods where I have ignored that Word.

I still read a psalm and another Scripture, but I have replaced Solomon’s wisdom for a photograph. I have taken thousands of pictures over the years, most of which I lost on some outdated memory device or the ever-present/never-present Cloud.

I now engage in what is called the spiritual practice of Visio Divina, or divine seeing. It’s easy to practice. I take a photograph, glue it to my journal and then study it. I then pray for a Scripture that speaks to me concerning this picture and write (yes, long hand), in my journal.

I rediscovered this picture in a stack I had printed. It’s from a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was evening and the sun was setting. This park is known for amazing views of the sun disappearing in the west.

“And get this! I, I am with you every day, until the very end of the age!”
Matthew 28:20

The cross stands tall even when no one sees it. One person is distracted by their phone, another is mesmerized by the sunset, another looks down, and another looks to the left as though there is something out there that captures her attention.

What a picture of life among those of us who know the power of the cross. The grace of this moment is that Jesus is always present. “Get this! I am always with you even when many things distract you, even things of your own choosing. My cross is always near.”

There is an invitation in this picture, an invitation to turn around and gaze once again at the cross. Jesus invites us to turn from our daily routines and see his cross that is much bigger than we are. A cross that will always be there.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado