Here is a devotion to start your day!
Also available now at Power, Love & Miracles:
Hidden Heroes of the Bible: The Empty Tomb. Chapters 10-12 [PLM+]
Mary Magdalene: When Jesus Says Your Name. The Bible Unplugged podcast, episode 72
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Hero: Tabitha (Dorcas)
Acts of service that literally raised up a community
Scripture: Acts 9:36–42
Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which when translated means Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and acts of mercy which she did.
Reflection
Tabitha is introduced as “full of good works and acts of mercy.” Her ministry is not flashy. It is stitched.
She makes tunics and garments for widows—those most vulnerable in her community. Each piece of clothing represents time, attention, and love. She is the kind of person whose absence would be felt in all the little places.
Then she becomes sick and dies.
The believers in Joppa wash her body and lay her in an upstairs room. But they can’t quite let go. They hear that Peter is nearby and send for him urgently. When he arrives, the widows stand beside him weeping, holding out the clothing she made, as if to say, “Look at what she did for us. Look at what we’re losing.”
God chooses to answer their grief with a miracle. Peter prays, and Tabitha is raised from the dead. Her life is literally restored, but so is the fabric of the community she helped hold together.
We tend to celebrate the “big” gifts—teaching, preaching, leadership. Tabitha reminds us that quiet acts of service are not second-class. They are the seams that keep a church from coming apart.
Think of the people who have “stitched” love into your life through meals, rides, notes, repairs, simple presence. Think of the ways you, too, have served that no one else sees—laundry, dishes, errands, small kindnesses. These are not invisible to God.
Unassuming heroes often do their best work in “sewing rooms” of ordinary life, where compassion takes the shape of practical care.
Centering Prayer
Jesus,
You see every hidden act of mercy—every meal cooked, stitch sewn, and errand run in love. Sometimes my small services feel unnoticed or unimportant. Center my heart in your gaze. Let me remember that you value kindness more than applause. Use the work of my hands to wrap others in your care. – Amen
Practice for Today
Do one tangible act of mercy for someone who may be overlooked: a widow, caregiver, neighbor, or quiet church member. Let it be simple, practical, and done without fanfare.
Journaling Prompt
If my “sewing room” could talk, what story would it tell about my love for others? How might God be inviting me to deepen or redirect that story?
Closing Blessing
Know that your kindness leave traces.
Let your hands become instruments of mercy in ordinary tasks.
Notice those whom others overlook and serve them with tenderness.
Trust that God sees and treasures every quiet garment of love.
Pray as You Go
Breathe in: Fill my hands with love…
Breathe out: … let my service reveal You
