She Gives Me Hope

Mark 5:25-29; 32-34

And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

I've been sewing a Mary Poppin's coat for my granddaughter. She wants to dress up like Mary for Trunk-and-Treat. Her mama provided the hat and parrot-headed umbrella, but we couldn't find a child-sized Poppin's coat, anywhere. So Grammy Penny (that's me!) searched high and low to find a pattern and blue wool to create the perfect costume/winter coat. I've stitched for several days and finally come to the finishing touches. Yesterday, I laid the coat out and started pinning the hem. As I rounded the garment, my mind drifted to the woman who touched the edge of Jesus' robe.

The woman, who had bleed for years from a disease no one could heal, placed her hand on the cloth of Jesus' cloak. She didn't ask. Instead she reached out in faith and hope. She believed she'd be healed by the Great Physician. Indeed, her aliment left her body. More important, her healing brought recognition from Jesus. He saw and felt her faith as she touched his clothes. Jesus freed her from her suffering because of her trust.

Jesus wants me to believe. I admit, my faith has been shaken when friends I've prayed for died. I didn't understand. I tried not to question, but I did, yet I'm drawn back to this woman who's faith healed her. She gives me hope. I'm reminded, sometimes the healing comes on earth and sometimes in heaven. I may not like the answer to my prayers. But I have faith in Jesus to heal the wounds the world opens. As the woman knelt down to touch Jesus' garment, I kneel to praise my Lord and my Savior and to proclaim my trust in him.

Have faith in the One who saves.