Just One Touch…

This post is written to link with Five Minute Friday: write for five minutes on a one-word prompt.  The prompt today is “touch.”

Standing amongst the jostling crowd, she watched him from a distance.

She could see the compassion in his eyes, and she had heard of his power.  Did she dare to approach him and ask?

She wasn’t sure she had the courage.  Years of sickness and disappointment had worn her down.  How could she cope if her hopes were dashed again?  She knew she wasn’t meant to be there anyway – she was unclean, excluded, unworthy… There was no way she could do it with all these people around.

But she was desperate.

And deep in her heart, she knew he could do it.  Would he do it – for her?  Her lack of confidence was such that she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe it, but surely it was worth a try.

If I can only touch him…

Gradually she moved closer, quietly squeezing through the crowd, until he was right there in front of her.

Just a little bit closer… He was within touching distance.  It was now or never…

Timidly, she reached out her hand…

And as her fingers brushed the edge of his robe, she could hardly believe it.  It had worked!  The bleeding that had plagued her for twelve years had stopped and she was enveloped by a sense of wellness she had almost forgotten.

As she marvelled at the miracle, her thoughts were interrupted by a voice:

“Who touched me?”

She froze.

For a moment she thought she might get away with it. As one of his disciples pointed out, he was in the middle of a huge crowd.  Someone must have brushed against him, but surely it wasn’t intentional.

But he knew, and he waited…

“It was me.”

Her voice was barely a whisper.

As he looked in her direction, she fell to her knees, trembling.  Afraid to look him in the eye, she tried again:

“I touched you.  I wanted you to heal me.”

Bracing herself for his reaction, and for the anger of the crowd, she stared at the ground, but then she felt his touch again.  But this time, it was him who was touching her – gently lifting her head so that she could see the compassion in his eyes:

“Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace.”

Photo by Catherine McMahon on Unsplash