The Hem of His Garment

“Hem of His Garment” Aurora Borealis over Finland

"If I could just touch the hem of His garment."

I am so connected to the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. Her hope, her prayer, her dare: “If I could just touch the hem of His garment, I would be healed.”

The past two days have had me on my knees, reaching for the hem of His garment.A friend from Prayer for Prodigals wrote: “I’m to a point of was asking Jesus to just take me home. I really can't go on anymore. I’m sooo tired.”

A friend with cancer we’ve been praying for seems out of options.

Another friend just got diagnosed with the same cancer.

A distant acquaintance lost her baby at 20 months.

A close friend has significant problems with her eye—she could lose her vision.

Another Prayer for Prodigals pray-er is watching her loved one relapse.

Oh and one more—a co-worker’s child has been diagnosed with a serious, potentially long-term condition.

I’m not ill. My child isn’t ill. My prodigal isn’t relapsing.

But the pain, the despair, the fear, the anger—on behalf of these I love—are palpable.

With them, I ask, Why? How do we get through this? How long, Lord?

These are questions I asked many times in our long journey in prodigal wilderness. Questions that seldom received the immediate, concrete, positive answers I desired.

Rather questions that elicited these kind of answers from God:Do not be afraid, my daughter. Wait. Trust. Hope. Have courage. Give me your burdens.

Followed by, I love you. I will never leave you or abandon you. I will be with you. You are a treasure to Me. Be comforted. Rest in Me. I am always looking for ways to do good to you. I sent my Spirit to live in you and provide for all your needs.

I read the Psalms. The stories of rescue and redemption. The stories of Jesus.

And I’m back with that woman who suffered for so long, outcast and hopeless. No, with one hope. “If I could just touch the hem of His garment…”

This morning, as I grieved and wept and beseeched, I saw the picture above. It is a stunning photo of a form of the Aurora Borealis in Finland. They call it The Hem of His Garment.

And God said, Yes, just touch the hem of My garment. There you will find healing, help, hope.

I’m reaching out….What about you? Do you need to touch the hem of His garment?

C2016 Judy Douglass