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.