Take heart, daughter

“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” Matthew 9:22

As some of you know, I am serving in the town where I grew up and where my father served for 28 years as the Presbyterian minister in town. He retired in 1985, so he has been gone for a generation, but there are still plenty of people who remember him. Honestly, he was sometimes larger than life and people knew he cared. He never let lines of color or creed, keep him from having friends and colleagues. He was also a loving, if strict father and I always felt safe and cared for with him. He taught me well about how to serve God and the church. Despite all I learned in seminary, most often my ministry is the direct reflection of the life and faith lessons I learned from my dad. He had a way of settling me down and restoring my faith by a small word and a gentle bear hug.

Today, we hear Jesus call the woman daughter and assure her that she was healed. She took a risk to touch him and he took a leap in love and healed her. We are all daughters and sons, reaching for the comfort and healing a loving parent can provide. We are all aching to be restored, bleeding and spent. God knows this and the author of love aches to bring us this healing and love.

May today be the day where we reach out in faith. May today be the day where we seek God in our darkest and most persistent pain. May we know God as a loving parent who is ready with a gentle touch and complete restoration. May we take one step in faith today into the arms of the one who loves us completely.