Advocacy Is Love in Action

For the woman standing in the gap for someone she loves.

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Good morning.

This has been a hard week.

My mother's health was declining quickly, and this week she had surgery. The days leading up to it were a roller coaster. I had to ask questions, push for answers, and advocate firmly to make sure she received the care she needed.

Praise the Lord, she came through the surgery beautifully.

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As grateful as I am, I cannot stop thinking about the elderly people who have no one standing beside them. No one asking another question. No one noticing when something is changing. No one willing to say, this is not right, please look again.

This week reminded me of something I want to hand to you before I go rest.

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Love is not always quiet.

Sometimes love sits beside the bed.

Sometimes love speaks up when something does not feel right.

Sometimes love keeps asking until someone listens.

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Her journey is not over. She will need rehabilitation, and I will keep making sure that either I or one of her caregivers is present and paying attention. It is exhausting. It is also a privilege to stand in the gap for someone who once stood in the gap for me.

Maybe you are advocating for someone you love right now. Maybe you are the one who needs somebody to notice, to listen, to stand beside you.

Do not be afraid to speak up. Ask the questions. Trust what you are seeing. Keep pressing when love tells you something needs attention.

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“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”

Proverbs 31:8

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Your invitation this week is small, because mine is too.

Ask one more question than feels comfortable. At the appointment, on the phone, in the hallway outside the room. The second question is where the answers usually live.

And if you are the tired one this week, let somebody sit beside your bed. Advocating is holy work, and it was never meant to be carried alone.

Thank you for praying for my mother and for our family. Please keep praying as she begins the next part of her recovery. Your prayers have carried us farther than you know.

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Advocacy is love in action.

Speak up. Keep asking.

You are standing in the gap, and God sees you there.

Walking with you,

Your sister in the rebuild,

Kimberly