This morning's reading in Mark (5:21-43) was action packed. I'd actually forgotten in the story of bringing Jarius' daughter back to life, that Jesus healed the woman with the bleeding disorder on the way. Karen started her sermon with a story of a flight attendant's simple act of kindness that she still remembers years later as a grown woman. I can imagine that stewardess had no idea that she affected a little child's life so deeply when she picked up her dropped doll and handed it back to her on the plane.
Jesus, on the other hand, seemed to recognize the importance of these acts of kindness. When the woman with the bleeding disorder touched him for healing, he singled her out and he asked "Who touched me?" It wasn't that he affected so many lives that one miracle blended into another - he saw each person as an individual soul. He called the newly healed woman daughter and he brought her into the circle of community, making sure she knew she was a special child of God.
Like Karen's benediction, I pray that we go into the week with eyes wide open to see those in our path, hearts open wide to receive them, and hands open wide to serve them. And I pray that we see the acts of love that are given to us by God through his people as well.