The “Already & Not Yet”: Hope in the Middle of the Hard

ZOE East Coast Advocate, Joy Medori shared…

There are weeks in this work when the weight feels especially heavy.

One of our ZOE Advocates recently shared that she has been intentionally making space to grieve the injustices while also praising God for the glimpses of glory breaking through. Holding both grief and gratitude week by week has become a rhythm that sustains her.

And this week, even in the heaviness, she witnessed hope:

1. At Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center (YIC) in Pennsylvania, a young girl who had been told she would not be returning home—news that could have led to anger or shutdown — responded in an unexpected way. Instead of spiraling, she remained calm, peaceful, and fully engaged in her programming. In fact, she creatively made a ‘Chutes and Ladders’ board game mapping out the steps toward getting home. Even in disappointment, she is choosing growth.

   

   

   

2. Another young woman who had struggled with isolation recently switched schools. She quickly befriended another student who also had no friends. Two girls who once stood alone are now standing together.
3. A resident at YIC who has spent much of her life cycling through the system is experiencing what staff described as a complete 180. Her transformation has been so significant that leadership took notice. She now has the opportunity to have her record expunged, a tangible sign that her past does not have to define her future.
4. There were legal victories as well. One young survivor learned that her perpetrator accepted a plea deal, sparing her the trauma of testifying in court.
5. A woman encountered through a sting operation has stopped posting online and received probation rather than jail time—allowing for intervention instead of deeper entrenchment and darkness.
6. And then there was the hardest news of the week: a violent incident affecting one of the girls. But even there, something remarkable happened. Because she has experienced consistent love and respect, she now knows she deserves better. She ended the relationship, chose safety, and is pursuing justice for herself. The choice to believe she is worthy of protection is not small. It is evidence of healing taking root.

There are still many “not yets” and prayers needing answers. But there is also undeniable evidence of God moving: rewriting stories, strengthening courage, and restoring dignity.

This is the tension we live in every day: the already and the not yet.

And because of your partnership, our advocates get to stand in that space, grieving what is broken while celebrating what is being rebuilt.

Thank you for being part of a community where both can exist at the same time. Where hope is not naive, but hard-won. Where justice is pursued patiently. And where, even in the heaviest weeks, we see glimpses of glory breaking through.