Jairus and the Woman

I have read this story many times. And every time I think how awesome Jesus is that he has the power to heal and perform great miracles, and I wonder how people could not believe in him after these sort of things...blah, blah, blah. I always thought the usual stuff that comes with being in Sunday School for so many years where just shouting "Jesus" seems to always be the right anwer. But as I read through Garland's commentary on Jairus and the woman God began to reveal many things to me about my own life. I found myself sitting alone, in a dark room, tears falling down my face. Last semester was my most difficult semester since I have been here at Williams...this is to be expected right. After all, I am a senior. But beyond school, life circumstances affected my grades. But more than that...they affected my sleep, my spiritual life, my emotional and mental well-being. And all of these things I could manage to keep hidden within my heart...a part from a few exceptions. As I finished reading I could not help but spend time with God. I realize that ideally we would want to be Jairus. He was a respectable man. Why would Jesus not want to help him...why would Jesus not want to help us if we are like Jairus? But we all have the potential to be the woman. No one wants to be her. She was an outcast. She lived on the fringes of society. But we all have that potential. But the good news is this...Jesus does not care. Jairus...the woman...they were one in the same. They both had needs. Jesus met both their needs....irregardless of who they were and where they had been in life. God's forgiveness knows no bounds....how awesome for those of us who feel we have fallen to far away to be forgiven.