A Parent's Worry

After the two days he departed for Galilee. (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast. So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee. John 4:43-54

You can't stop us, we worry. As a parent you cannot help but worry when your kids are sick or facing a big challenge. Our granddaughter had a high fever this week, and although it was finally just from teething, she caused her parents great worry. Even though our daughters are grown, I still worry about them. I ache for them to be happy and every day, I pray and put them in God's hands. And everyday I still find myself thinking and wondering, especially when they are sick.

An official comes to Jesus and the man is beside himself with worry. His child was near death and in those times, there was little medicine that would fix the boy. Death was inevitable. I am sure the man had prayed and racked himself with grief and worry. He was a good parent and he could not help himself. To this aching man, Jesus responds with comfort and immediate healing. He sends the man running home with joy and hopefulness, something that had been missing from this man for all too long. We hear from our gospel today that that which has been missing for all too long, is just around the corner. Jesus aches for the worried parent, the anxious child and all of us in between. And the answer, the healing is coming for God's desire is for us to run home with joy and hopefulness.

Today, I ask God to help me trust and continue to ask for the healing and answers we need. May the signs of God's love for us be so evident today that none of us can miss the promise and the hope we have. May we all run home with joy knowing that God is supplying the need before we can ask, and God is aching with us for solution and resolution.