Recently a friend came to me and told me some devastating news. She had been diagnosed with an incurable, but not deadly, disease. She had had this disease for some time but wasn't aware of it. This disease would affect most of her life. It would change things – things that she wasn't ready to change. She was sad, discouraged, frustrated, angry and hurt. She asked God why? Had she done something to deserve it? Life seemed already bleak to her as it was. Sure, she has many wonderful days, and she is thankful to God for them.  However her job wasn't the best, her finances were always a struggle and she still had not found the "one". Now this? Needless to say she is spending a lot of time with God right now. Trying to find a place of peace about her new life to come. Trying to understand her disease, her options and how to live with it.

I, too, struggle with health issues that require daily medication to survive. I live modestly, watching my money as it seems to pour out of my hands. I also haven't found the "one". But you know what? God has brought me to such a place of peace about things that I have chosen to be patient about all things that he hasn't given me yet.? Sure, there are days when I get discouraged but I have never lost hope. Even in the midst of the storm I know my Lord is there, working things out for me and giving me peace about it all. This has been my advice to my friend. That even though this new health concern will change her life, it can change it for the better. Sure, her plans might not work out but God's plans are so much higher than our own. He wants to give us so much more than we could ever imagine. Even in the worst circumstances, he can be glorified through our lives as we stay submissive in him. As we stay close to him.

The woman who bled for 12 years is especially close to my heart. I believe it is my favorite scripture because of the incredible faith that this woman showed. Why now after all these years did God heal her? Was it for others to see her faith? Was it for others to witness a healing? Was it just for her? Was it for her own family and friends? Would she now go out and share the news of Christ to others? Was it just for us who now read her story? Perhaps it was for all of these answers. I can visualize the massive crowd around Jesus. So many had heard of who he was, that he could heal you and restore you. So many wanting to just get close to him. Pushing and shoving.

Jesus had just been asked to heal a little girl. He was on his way to her home when he felt that someone had touched him. That some of his power had left him. He would ask his disciples who had touched his clothes. "You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' " But Jesus knew that this touch was different. This cry for help came from someone with a different heart. Someone who knew what patience was. Someone who knew what power Christ had. Someone who had real faith.