“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

It’s a phrase from Psalm 34, written as David reflected about escaping from Saul and the people he sent to kill David. It gets used to offer comfort to people who are grieving, particularly the death of someone close. Because, in those moments, our hearts feel – and sometimes are literally – broken.

As I was reflecting on the sentence during my walk, I thought, “And sometimes, often, God shows that closeness with the people around.”

And I thought, “And God will remember that brokenheartedness a week after the death. And a month. And a year. And three decades. And when the person who died would have graduated from high school. And when the person who died’s first grandchild is born. And God will invite people to put the anniversary of the death on their calendars so they remember to check in and listen in a week, and a month. So that they can be close, too. Because if God is close to the brokenhearted, that’s where we might find God, too.”

And then I came home and put a couple dates on my calendar.