Listen

Then a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of his clothes. She thought, If I only touch his robe I’ll be healed.

When Jesus turned and saw her, he said, “Be encouraged, daughter. Your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that time on.

Matthew 9:20-22

Think

When Jesus met this woman, he was on his way to somewhere else, following the ruler whose daughter had died and answering the man’s pleas to help her. Maybe this woman knew where to find him along the road or maybe their paths just happened to cross, but this story is a reminder that healing can happen in unexpected places. The woman needed help, and Jesus made time to hear her and help her.

In the midst of our busy schedules and (understandable!) worries about our own struggles and those of the people closest to us, it can be easy to overlook other people around us who need help too. Jesus ultimately goes on to help the ruler’s daughter, but he also stops to heal this woman along the way. There is enough of God’s love to go around, even when things don’t play out exactly the way we expect.

So may we follow Jesus’ example and move through our lives, open-minded toward the unexpected places we might join in sharing God’s healing love.

Allison Wehrung

Pray

Holy Lord, open my heart to the unexpected places I might find you.

Help me to recognize opportunities to share or receive your love, even when things aren’t going according to plan.

Amen.

Go

We come to you, O loving Lord,
in our distress and pain,
in trust that through our nights and days,
your grace will heal, sustain.

Herman G. Stuempfle Jr. in “We Come to You for Healing, Lord” (2013)