Behind the name

She told why... 

Where does that come from? What does it mean? Hmm...

Looking back...

When I made a commitment to start a blog this year, the thought of it was, uh, daunting - not due to the technical side (my husband could set it up for me), but because... what name would I give it? Gah! To me, the meaning behind a name is important, the meaning behind a single word is important. I love words. I value words. I study words. As much as I am intrigued by words, left on my own, I am not good with words. 

I need both instruction and inspiration. I utilize resources (like a dictionary or a good book) more than I care to admit, yet I still make humiliating just-gotta-laugh-at-yourself mistakes, especially when speaking! I often have to pause and ask my listeners for help when I can't think of the right word. Sometimes I make up a word and go with it, laughingly. As you can imagine, I was relieved to learn that with Blogger, I can save drafts, restore posts back to drafts, as well as make unlimited edits. What may appear to come easy to me, does not. 

As the saying goes, nothing worth having comes easy.

Back to the name. Every time I would apply effort to come up with a blog name, it didn't seem to fit and I didn't want to force it. So I gave myself allowance to hold off until the name came to me from an origin of inspiration instead of mental exertion. 

If you are reading this post today it's because the name finally came to me!

I can't explain it, but I just knew it was the right time. For inspiration, I turned to the source that often brings me relief from exhausting and empty efforts. I kept turning - page by page, chapter by chapter, verse by verse - until those three little words leaped off the page and seeped into my soul. Have you ever experienced the vibrancy and power of written words like that? I knew this was it. I just knew.

The story connected with those three little words, She told why, comes from an eye-witness account of an unnamed woman. It's one of the first stories from the Bible that really resonated with me when I turned to Jesus and began turning the pages again, after about a 10 year hiatus. I will share my story another time. Today, I want to share her story - the unnamed woman's story.

Her story can be found in three different gospel books (Matthew, Mark and Luke), which tells me it must have left a notable impression. All three writers give us a slightly different perspective, a different piece to fill in the big picture. Those three little words in particular come from Luke 8:40-48.

Here we go...

Amazing and astonishing news about Jesus had been spreading like wildfire. Upon returning from the other side of the lake, Jesus was welcomed by an expectant crowd. A prominent and significant ruler came to Jesus and humbly pleaded for Him to come and heal his 12-year-old dying daughter. Jesus went with him. The expectant crowd became a crushing crowd - following and pressing Jesus as He went on His way. Can you picture such a mob of people? In the midst of this crushing crowd was the unnamed woman.

This woman had been suffering with a bleeding problem for 12 years. 12 years. The way in which this would have effected her life was pervasive and devastating. She sought help time and time again, but it only caused greater suffering and left her worse off. Disappointment after disappointment, no one could heal her. She spent all she had. She grew increasingly weak and no doubt, desperate. She heard about Jesus. This was her only hope. He was her only hope. 

In the midst of the mob and as weak as she would have been, her thinking was - if I could just touch the edge of His clothing, I will be healed... If only... I must press through, just one touch... nobody needs to know, nobody needs to see, nobody needs to hear about it... 

She did the seemingly impossible and somehow pushed aside her fears and courageously pressed through the pressing crowd to get close enough to the backside of Jesus, close enough to touch the edge of His cloak, close enough to be healed. And healed she was, immediately. 

That's not where the story ends. Jesus, pressed for time and pressed by the crowd, stopped. He stopped, turned around, and asked, who touched Me? Seriously? Those closest to Jesus thought it was a ridiculous question considering the number of people crowding and nearly crushing Him. Did it really matter? It obviously mattered to Jesus. The unnamed woman mattered to Jesus. She mattered. 

Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Him and how she had been instantly healed. Then He said to her, Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace. 

She was afraid and would have preferred to secretly touch and walk away unnoticed, but Jesus wasn't going to leave her in that unsettled, unnoticed state. Grace leaves no room for guilt and shame. 

She went from being an unnamed, unclean, undeserving, desperate woman to being, Daughter. What had Jesus done? The healing would have been enough for her, but He did so much more. He stopped for her. He dignified her in the presence of all the people. He restored her. He preferred her. He gave her a voice. He gave her a new identity. He acknowledged and affirmed her faith. He gave her peace. It is well.  

Hang with me - I am finishing up! 

Have you ever felt like you've tried everything and nothing's working? Things are growing worse. There's nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to. You've suffered greatly. You're spent. You're desperate. There's got to be something more than this. You're pressed by life, nearly crushed. If you could just get a touch of something promising, of someone. If only...

You're an unnamed person - just one in a million - rejected by the crowd, unseen by the crowd, with a voice that gets drowned out. Courageously, you're willing to do whatever it takes. 

You'd rather slip away unnoticed. Too afraid or ashamed, ignorant or insecure, unworthy or unbecoming. What would people think? How would they react? Your mind is unkind. 

Then, with one touch of Kindness, one compelling question, and three little words - Go in Peace, your life forever changes...

I don't know about you, but I can relate to the unnamed woman. And I too would rather go unnoticed from the crushing, condescending, critical crowd. But just like her, I have been given an invitation and voice to humbly share and tell why... 

...why I turned to Jesus... why I pressed through the crowd... why I touched Him... how He healed me... why I stand firm in the faith... why I have peace... why I am who I am today. 

So it is with a grateful heart and shaky hands that I share this with you today. This is the story and the why behind the name, She told why...

Grace and peace ~ 
SS