He Was Already Looking for You
A devotional by Patti Schultz, Ed.D.
Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”—Mark 5:25-30 (NKJV)
There is a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from cycles of hoping and losing, hoping and losing again. Some call it grief. For me, it was infertility, miscarriage, a failed adoption, and due dates with no babies. I call it my decade in the crowd, pressing toward a hem I could not always see.
I gain great strength from the Bible story of the woman who bled for twelve years. Twelve years of visiting doctors, hoping to be cured, spent savings, and hope deferred over and over again. Mark 5:26 (NKJV) says, “She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.” This woman was not a footnote in someone else’s miracle. She is the story.
Then she heard about Jesus Christ (Mark 5:27). Not “saw”, she heard. Someone else’s testimony reached her ears before she ever reached His robe. That is the first quiet witness: a word passed from mouth to mouth until it found the person who needed it. So, she approached Christ from behind, through the crowd, unnoticed by all but God. Pressing forward she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well” (Mark 5:28). She reaches. She touches. Immediately the fountain of her blood stops flowing, and she feels in her body that she is healed.
But then Jesus stops. He asks who touched Him, not because He does not know, but because He wants more than her healing. He wants to make her known. “And He looked around to see her who had done this thing” (Mark 5:32). When she comes to Jesus, trembling and tells Him the truth, He says, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction” (Mark 5:34).
Everyone reaches for something: a diagnosis, a marriage, a prodigal. For me, it was recurrent loss. Ten years of trying: pregnancy tests with one line instead of two, a nursery painted and repainted in my mind. We pursued adoption once and watched that door close, and it devastated us. We said goodbye to eleven babies before we ever held them.
I know what it is to be surrounded by people and still feel unnoticed in my grief, to bleed spiritually for years. But like the woman in the crowd, I kept reaching, not because my faith was impressive, but because I had nowhere else to go. And nowhere else to go turned out to be exactly where He was.
We now have four sons on this side of heaven, four resurrection stories woven through with a whole soccer team of losses I carry quietly. I do not tell you this to make the ending easier; it isn’t. Not every reaching ends this way. Some hands are still open, still waiting, and that waiting is not a failure of faith. I tell you because Jesus stopped for this woman. I have learned that He does not wait for a resolved ending. He meets us in the reaching.
The woman’s healing became a testimony the moment Jesus asked. Her private, desperate faith became a story others could stand on. That is what witness does: it takes the hidden, hemorrhaging years and says, “Here is where God was, even when I could not feel it.”
If you are still reaching, still pressing through a crowd toward something you cannot fully see, your reaching is not invisible to Him. Jesus is already looking for you, the way He looked for her. One day, your quiet faith may become someone else’s reason to reach for Him too.
Let’s Pray:
Dear God, You saw her in the crowd before she ever said a word. See me too, in the reaching I have not spoken aloud, in the years I have carried quietly. Give me the courage to keep reaching, without knowing the ending. When my story is ready, let it become someone else’s reason to reach for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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Song of Reflection #1: “God is in This Story” by Katy Nichole & Big Daddy Weave. Listen to it here.
Song of Reflection #2: “Hold on to Me” by Lauren Daigle. Listen to it here.
Song of Reflection #3: “Wait on You” by Elevation Worship. Listen to it here.
Song of Reflection #4: “One Touch (Press)” by Nicole C. Mullen. Listen to it here.
Song of Reflection #3: “Wait on You” by Elevation Worship. Listen to it here.
Song of Reflection #4: “One Touch (Press)” by Nicole C. Mullen. Listen to it here.
Song of Reflection #5: “My Prayer for You” by Alisa Turner. Listen to it here.
Song of Reflection #7: “God Will Work It Out” (feat. Naomi Raine & Israel Houghton) | Maverick City Music | TRIBL. Listen to it here.
Song of Reflection #8: “It's Always Been You” by Phil Wickham. Listen to it here.
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Author Bio:
Dr. Patti Schultz’s inspiring journey weaves a tapestry of compassion, resilience, and divine hope.
Formerly a public school principal, professor, teacher, and interpreter for the deaf, she now dedicates her life to a heartfelt ministry rooted in her personal experiences.
As a mother to three miracle boys here on Earth and a member of a heavenly soccer team, Patti’s story is one of unwavering faith and profound love. Her decade-long battle with infertility and recurrent loss fuels her deep compassion for grieving mothers, guiding them toward healing through the comforting embrace of Jesus Christ’s garment.
Patti’s gentle wisdom offers a safe haven for women navigating pain, reminding them they are never alone. Through her ministry, she seeks to envelop grieving mothers in divine comfort, encouraging hope, renewal, and the reassurance that God's love is always near, wrapping them in His compassionate hem as they walk the path to healing.
Living in northern Michigan, she cherishes precious moments with family and community, drawing strength from faith and connection.
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Connect with Patti:
Website: pattischultz.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.pattischultz/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dr.Patti.Schultz
Email: dr.patti.schultz@gmail.com
