Devotional #1

Scripture: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18**

I’ve spent more hours than I can count in rooms soaked with sorrow.

Courtrooms where justice felt more like theater than truth.
Living rooms where grieving mothers sat clutching photos like life preservers.
Sobering houses where women whispered their shame like secrets too heavy to carry.

And I’ll be honest, friend — there have been nights I’ve sat at my desk, staring at another cold case file, wondering why God keeps asking me to hold all these broken stories.

But then I remember: He was always drawn to the forgotten.
Jesus sought out the bleeding woman, the tax collector, the sinner at the well. He walked toward the people others crossed the street to avoid. He saw them. Named them. Loved them.

And if He did that — then we can too.

This space we’re building isn’t about morbid curiosity or pity. It’s about refusing to let the world look away. It’s about standing in the gap for the ones the world has written off:

• The missing who never came home
• The mothers fighting for sobriety
• The women dismissed as “too broken” to matter

Here’s what I want you to know today:

You do not have to be whole to be called.
You just have to be willing to carry a corner of someone else’s story.

Because when we do, when we dare to stand beside the brokenhearted, we find God already standing there, holding the pieces we can’t.

💭 Reflection

• Who has God placed on your heart that the world has forgotten?
• What’s one small way you can carry a corner of their story this week?

💌 Prayer

Lord, give me eyes to see the forgotten the way You do.
When the world looks away, help me lean in.
Use my hands to hold the hurting,
and set my heart on fire for Your justice and mercy.
Amen.