John 19:25

Jesus has been crucified — publicly executed on a wooden cross by Roman authorities outside Jerusalem. This verse describes who was there as he died. While most of his disciples had fled in fear, four women remained: his mother Mary, her sister (his aunt), another woman named Mary who was the wife of a man called Clopas, and Mary Magdalene, a devoted follower Jesus had previously healed. Their presence at this brutal scene was an act of extraordinary loyalty and love — they did not leave.

Lord, give me the courage to stay — in the hard conversations, in the painful rooms, beside people who are suffering and can offer me nothing in return. Teach me that my presence is not nothing. When every instinct says run, anchor me with the same stubborn love that held those women near the cross. Amen.

Think about what it costs to stay. The men who had walked with Jesus for three years, who had made bold promises just hours earlier at dinner, had scattered into the dark. But these women stayed. Not because they had a plan. Not because they understood what was happening or could do anything to stop it. They stayed because love sometimes has no exit strategy. You've probably had a moment like that — not at a cross, but in a hospital room, beside someone in the worst hours of their life, in a friendship that had nothing left to offer except your continued presence. The instinct to flee when things are unbearable is deeply human. What these women model is something quieter and harder than heroism: they simply refused to look away. You don't have to understand the suffering. You don't have to fix it. Sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is stand there — close enough to be seen, close enough to matter.