For many years I was the queen of diminish and dismiss. My friends lauded me for my ability to forgive and continue in relationships with people who had hurt me. And so it wasn’t until a very keen priest called me on my coolness that I finally understood this phenomenon. I wasn’t good at forgiving; I was good at pretending that it didn’t hurt.
I am so inspired by the woman in today’s Gospel. Though she had been suffering for more than a decade with this exhausting, isolating condition, she rallies her strength and goes to Jesus. Not only does she show up, she shows up expecting to be healed.
Too often we minimize our hurts. We try to manage the fallout from a heartbreak or a loved one’s hospital stay in an effort to get back to “real life” as soon and as seamlessly as possible. After all, we don’t want to be a burden. But this is real life and sometimes real life hurts.
The Good News is that Jesus wants to meet us in our suffering. The rub is, we have to show Him.
Imagine a child with a cut or a scrape. It hurts so bad! It’s scary! Will the ointment sting? But like any loving Father, God isn’t going to scold us once He’s got us up on that countertop, assessing the wound. He is going to tenderly clean and dress it. And sometimes it does hurt, especially if it means reopening an old wound, but God knows we’ll never heal properly if He doesn’t tend to it.
Jesus can’t stop the hemorrhaging if we don’t come to Him. If we don’t ask Him to help us, we won’t feel His saving power course through our bodies. If we talk about our problems to everyone but Him, we won’t hear Him speak courage to our weary hearts. He can’t calm our fears if we never voice them. He can’t heal the pain of our past if we hide our wounds.
Jesus isn’t too busy for your brokenness. One could argue that a father begging for his child’s life had the greater need, but still Jesus stopped for her. And He’ll turn around for you, too, if only you have the courage to come out of the crowd and ask Him.
What can you come to Him with today? Turn to Him in your heart.
Beth Davis is the Director of Ministry Advancement for Blessed is She. She served as a youth minister for eleven years. She has a heart for teaching women about developing an intimate relationship with Jesus and speaking hope to weary souls. You can find out more about her here.
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