Trauma, Touch, and the Courage to Reach

Hey everyone, I'm Dr. Allison. Today's scripture offers us a wiser way of being human as we step into the day. Today's story is about a woman who has lived too long in suffering and about what it takes to reach for help when your body has learned to brace. Today's reading comes from Luke 8, 43-48. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. Who touched me? Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you. But Jesus said, Someone touched me. I know that power has gone out from me. 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. There's so much powerful psychology in this scene. This woman has suffered for 12 years. That's not just physical pain. It's relational pain, social pain, emotional pain, and spiritual pain. 12 years is long enough for your world to shrink, long enough for your hope to diminish, long enough for your body to learn the reflex of bracing. Because when pain is chronic, your system starts to expect disappointment. And that's what long-term suffering does to us It doesn just hurt in a moment It trains us Over time suffering can shape the nervous system It can teach your body that closeness is risky that attention is unsafe that hope is dangerous If you've been disappointed enough times by people, by systems, by prayers that felt unanswered, your heart may still want healing, but your body may hesitate to reach. And still, this woman reaches. After 12 years, she still reaches out for healing. Notice how she does it, not with a speech, not with certainty, not trying to convince or persuade. She reaches quietly from behind with a trembling body. That's such a powerful detail. Scripture doesn't shame her fearfulness. It doesn't say, if you really trusted God, you wouldn't tremble. That's not how it is. She's trembling, and she reaches anyway. That's so often what healing looks like in real life, not dramatic confidence, but courage in small moments. And now notice what happens next because this is where the story gets even more tender. Jesus could have let the healing remain anonymous. He could have just kept walking, but he stops. He turns, he asks, who touched me? Which is fascinating because the crowd is pressing in on him. Plenty of people are bumping into him, and yet Jesus distinguishes between contact and meaningful connection. There's a difference between being near and being known. And for many of us, that's one of the deepest aches of our pain. You can be surrounded by people and still feel alone. You can be doing life, showing up, functioning, and still feel unseen. This woman tries to disappear into the crowd but Jesus refuses to let her stay hidden not to expose her but to connect with her Because healing isn only about the body it about belonging It about relationship. It's about being known and witnessed. It's about being seen without shame. And look at her response. She comes trembling and falls at his feet. She tells the truth in front of everyone about why she touched him. That's trust. It's vulnerable. It's risky. And then Jesus speaks one word that changes the entire emotional atmosphere of the scene. He calls her daughter. This is the language of belonging, of secure attachment, of family. He doesn't treat her as a case or a problem to be solved. He calls her daughter. In other words, you are not an outsider here. You are not a problem to be managed. You belong. And then he says, go in peace, not go and pretend nothing ever happened, not go and never struggle again. Peace here is wholeness, integration, a settledness that comes when your suffering has been met with love and your story has been held with dignity. And here's the hope I want to offer you today. You may have been carrying something for a long time, a grief, a fear, a chronic stress, a lonely ache, a physical illness, a relationship wound, something you've stopped talking about because it's been there so long. And this passage reminds us that Jesus is not limited by timelines. 12 years is not too long. Your story is not too complicated. Your hesitation is not a disqualifier. Sometimes healing comes in an instant. Sometimes it comes through a long process And sometimes the healing you long for doesn arrive in this life the way we wish it would But no matter what this story tells us something true for all of us Jesus notices the trembling ones. Jesus turns toward the hidden ones. Jesus restores the ones who have been overlooked. As we close today, where do you notice fear or trembling? What is one place you've learned to brace because disappointment has trained you to expect pain. If Jesus were to turn toward you with steadiness, what name of belonging do you long to hear him say? What does go in peace mean to you today? May you be met with kindness in the places where you have learned to brace. May you have the courage to reach, not perfectly, but honestly. May you sense Jesus turning toward you with steady love. And may you hear a name of belonging spoken over your life. And may peace, real peace, deep peace, begin to settle in your soul today. If you're sitting with trauma or a long season of suffering, please know you're not alone. We've linked in the show notes to several deeper dive episodes with trusted trauma experts, along with a short list of books we recommend by authors we trust. And if you're looking for counseling support, you can find a list of resources at drallisoncook.com slash resources. Thank you for joining me today. I can't wait to meet you here tomorrow.