John 7:37 reads, "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.'"

I remember reading this verse and scribbling something down in my journal with frustration: “Why is this not true for me?" I felt far from God, like He had disappeared from my life. My prayers felt hollow, like they were bouncing off the ceiling. "I am thirsty! Where are You?" I cried out, hoping for some sort of answer, but nothing seemed to change.

I grew up in a small Southern town, the kind of place where the population was overwhelmingly white and deeply conservative. This wasn’t always the case—once, it was a Democratic stronghold. But like many Southern towns, the political landscape shifted in the 80s and 90s when the Republican Party won over the evangelical vote. Issues of morality, such as abortion and the sanctity of marriage, began to take precedence over economic concerns.