Just a glimpse

I notice her as I am riding bikes with my boys. It is early in the morning and there are not many out and about yet, and I almost miss her, but at second glance, there she sets on her back porch. We are too far away to make eye contact but I imagine she is smiling. Tears fill my eyes as I whisper a prayer heavenward for her peace and comfort and for her joy. I wonder if her tears are tears of joy, tears of sadness, or tears of gratefulness for another new morning. I wonder if she is praying too. I know her faith is strong. In my mind, I suspect she is closer to our God than most of us. I imagine she can almost reach out and touch Him. She is leaning heavily on her heavenly Father as she fights a difficult battle. When we need Him, we can't help but draw close, so I feel comforted knowing that she can depend on Him.

When we are in the midst of our our toughest battles we can rest in the victory. It is not an easy place to be and I can't help but think of the suffering woman that we find in the Gospels. She has been suffering for years. She is an outcast and has spent all she has and is still not well. She is desperate for help and desperate for healing so she reaches out. She doesn't want or need much, just a bit of His cloak and that will be enough . As her hand brushes my Jesus, she feels His power and is made whole. He knows that someone of faith has been healed and so He asks who touched Him. I love this part because He already knows the answer. I think He asks the question for many reasons and I wonder if one is because He wants to see her face and show her His love. I think He longs to get close to us, look us in the eyes and get personal and real. It is easy for us to say we have faith, but to walk with our Savior and reach for Him, to expect Him to make us whole, we have to be desperate.  We have to be clinging to hope. When we are deep in the pit of our circumstances, when we are fighting our hardest battles, when we feel overwhelmed,  might that be when we are closest to heaven? I wonder if those are the times when we can reach out and touch just a bit of His cloak ourselves. We have to need it deeply. I am closest to Jesus when I need Him most. When I am depending on Him, He is there and He is close. He is my victory and my healing.

I didn't see her eyes that morning, my neighbor on her porch, but I wish I had. I would have liked to have seen her peace, to share a bit of her faith. She is reflecting Jesus, His love, His comfort, His healing, His eternal victory, simply by sitting on her porch. She is trusting that just a bit of His cloak will make her whole, maybe just for today or, maybe, for forever. I would have liked to have seen it up close, but I am thankful for the glimpse. I am forever grateful that Jesus is personal and powerful. I will pray for her and look for her and hope for her.


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