TTA Takeover: Lauren Allen

STP Devotional for the Week of 02/09/26

Hello everyone! My name is Lauren Allen, and I get to do the TTA takeover for the Tuesday 14+ class performing Gatsby!

I had the privilege of growing up at STP and being a TTA for many shows. STP will always hold a very special place in my heart, and I’m so blessed to be back after college, helping out again with this wonderful class, the same class I actually graduated from!

When I found out our class was going to put on the production of Gatsby, I was super excited. For those of you who aren’t familiar with STP’s version of Gatsby, it tells the beautiful story of the Prodigal Son, a parable that Jesus shares in Luke 15:11–32.

The story of the Prodigal Son is one of my favorite parables in Scripture because it so beautifully showcases the Father’s unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace toward us, even when we don’t deserve it.

After growing up hearing and reading this story and seeing it portrayed on stage so many times in rehearsal, there have been so many things that have impacted me in new ways each time. The one I want to talk about today comes from verse 16. At this point in the story, the son has left his home and is out in the world. It says, “He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.”

That last little bit is what I want to focus on. The lost son ventured out into the world, and it gave him nothing, absolutely nothing. How often is that true for us? We “leave home” and seek independence from God, only to find ourselves empty, lost, and alone, just like the prodigal son. The world may promise satisfaction, freedom, or fulfillment, but it only ever offers temporary comfort that never truly lasts.

Later in the story, when the son returns home, we see the Father running to reunite with him, and what a beautiful depiction of God’s character and love towards His children that is. The Father then tells his servants to quickly bring his son clean clothes and to kill the fattened calf so they can celebrate his return home (v. 19–24). What a powerful reminder that even when this world gives us nothing, our Heavenly Father gives us everything we could ever need. We must look to Him and Him alone for our identity, our worth, and our fulfillment, because He is the only one who can truly satisfy our hearts forever.

So, I want to encourage you to rest in this reminder today: He alone is worthy of our praise, and He alone is all that we will ever need. And I also want to invite you to come and see this beautiful show, a show about redemption and love, and I hope it touches your heart just as it has touched mine.