I noticed her walking "The Ave", as the non-avenue, University Street, near Seattle's University of Washington campus is known. Then I saw her sitting at a table in the neighborhood Tully's Coffee Shop. Or perhaps I should saying sitting over, her head and hair hovering over the table as a result of her weak and deformed back. Perhaps an extreme case of osteoporosis, or perhaps something else. I didn't have the medical knowledge to know. An old women with long grey here, hunched over completely, almost as through she could break in two. She looked incapable of standing erect. And old woman in dress and attachments, the classic bag lady. One look at her sufficient to evoke sorrow for suffering humankind.
Nightly, I do a bible study, inclusive of reading the gospels. That night the gospel spoke to me about her. I opened the pages of Luke and it spoke to me. In chapter 13, v.10-17 it spoke to me about her. There we find Jesus teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. v. 11-13 reads "And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said , 'Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.' He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God." The remainder of the section is a dispute between Jesus and those who think he should not heal on the sabbath, where he triumphs by saying she has been set free from bondage. I prayed for her.
Another day, while I waited for my morning bus for work and was feeding quarters into a newspaper vending machine, I saw her walking down the street. She was asking people for something, but I couldn't hear what she said. A couple people walked away from her. After I pulled my newspaper out of the machine, I stepped away from it towards her and said, "I'm sorry I couldn't here what you asked." She pushed forward a card in her hand and said, I want to sell my Mcdonalds gift card, because I need money. I said, "I'm sorry, I don't usually eat there", but then I gave her a dollar. Suddenly she rose nearly erect and said "Thank you" before resuming her posture. Heal.
Nightly, I do a bible study, inclusive of reading the gospels. That night the gospel spoke to me about her. I opened the pages of Luke and it spoke to me. In chapter 13, v.10-17 it spoke to me about her. There we find Jesus teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. v. 11-13 reads "And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said , 'Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.' He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God." The remainder of the section is a dispute between Jesus and those who think he should not heal on the sabbath, where he triumphs by saying she has been set free from bondage. I prayed for her.
Another day, while I waited for my morning bus for work and was feeding quarters into a newspaper vending machine, I saw her walking down the street. She was asking people for something, but I couldn't hear what she said. A couple people walked away from her. After I pulled my newspaper out of the machine, I stepped away from it towards her and said, "I'm sorry I couldn't here what you asked." She pushed forward a card in her hand and said, I want to sell my Mcdonalds gift card, because I need money. I said, "I'm sorry, I don't usually eat there", but then I gave her a dollar. Suddenly she rose nearly erect and said "Thank you" before resuming her posture. Heal.
Beautiful story. Thanks for sharing it.
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