In the Bible, there is a story of a woman who faced an ongoing struggle with a continuous period outside her monthly cycle, despite seeking help from many experts. Her situation seemed hopeless, yet it holds a profound lesson that we’ll explore later. But before diving deeper into her story, it’s important to first understand what a period is and its significance in a woman’s life.
For young girls, the onset of menstruation marks a significant milestone in their transition to womanhood. This natural process is not only a sign of maturity but also a crucial part of the body’s preparation for the possibility of motherhood. Despite the discomfort and challenges it brings, menstruation plays a vital role in a woman’s reproductive health.
The monthly period and its role in childbirth
A woman’s monthly period, or menstruation, is the shedding of the uterine lining (endometrium) through the vagina, typically occurring every 28 days and lasting 3-7 days. This process is part of the menstrual cycle, preparing the body for potential pregnancy.
Key phases of the menstrual cycle
- Menstrual Phase: Shedding of the uterine lining, resulting in menstrual bleeding.
- Follicular Phase: Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) prompts the ovaries to produce follicles and thickens the uterine lining.
- Ovulation: The release of a mature egg from the ovary into the fallopian tube, marking the most fertile period.
- Luteal Phase: The corpus luteum forms and secretes progesterone to keep the uterine lining. If no fertilisation occurs, hormone levels drop, leading to menstruation.
Connection to childbirth
The menstrual cycle ensures the availability of a mature egg and prepares the uterine lining for potential pregnancy. If fertilisation occurs, the fertilised egg implants within the prepared uterine lining, starting pregnancy. Hormonal regulation throughout the cycle is crucial for maintaining a healthy pregnancy, culminating in childbirth. Understanding the menstrual cycle helps recognise its critical role in reproduction and the potential issues that can arise, affecting fertility and overall reproductive health.
Menstruation is a good thing
The description above suggests that having a period is positive, and most girls are happy when theirs starts. For some women, monthly periods can be a nightmare because of intense abdominal pain, heavy bleeding, and other symptoms before and during menstruation. The good news for them, if they have a normal period, is that it ends until the next cycle.
Revisiting the woman facing a period problem
Now, let’s return to the story of the woman in the Bible. While the scripture doesn’t specify her age, something went wrong with her period—it didn’t stop. Perhaps her bleeding continued after childbirth, or maybe it was because of a hormonal imbalance. Whatever the cause, this woman suffered from nonstop bleeding for twelve years.
And a woman was there who had been subjected to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately, her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
Mark 5:25-29 (NIV)
Imagine enduring a period that never ends, with sanitary products becoming a permanent part of daily life. This was the distressing reality for the woman, who, despite undergoing various medical treatments, found no relief. As if her physical suffering weren’t enough, her condition made her “unclean” according to the law in Leviticus 15:25-27. This meant that she couldn’t take part in the rituals that would normally follow a menstrual period, leaving her isolated and spiritually separated.
Named after her condition
In her community, Her presence was seen as contaminating, her touch would make others unclean, and even sitting on public furniture would do the same. She was an outcast, cut off from her family, friends, and even the Temple, incapable of joining prayers or rituals.
Despite all this, the woman had one thing left: her faith. With nothing to lose, she approached Jesus, hoping that just a touch of his garment would heal her.
Reaching out with what she had left
Woman with period issue approaches Jesus in the image above
She edged through the crowds with all sorts of things going through her mind as she sought to touch Jesus’ garment? Perhaps she thought the pressing crowd wouldn’t notice her, as there were too many people veering for His attention. Maybe she thought of using just her fingers to prevent excessive contamination.
She might have feared that if the crowd recognised her, they could turn on her and stone her for risking their contamination. Yet, her only focus was on reaching out to touch his garment, driven by the stories of miraculous healings she had heard about. In her desperation, she had nothing left to lose.
Healed instantly
The woman’s blood flow stopped instantly, as we see above in verse 29. Her touch had the opposite effect, as she did not make Jesus unclean, but He made her clean. Jesus is Light and Life, and His mission on earth is to set captives free. Isaiah 61:1-3
At once, Jesus realised that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
“You see, the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Mark 5:30-34 (NIV)
Jesus stopped the crowed
Jesus was actually heading to heal a dying daughter of a respected synagogue leader. His needs seemed more pressing, and his position demanded urgency.
But, there was something remarkable about this nameless woman’s faith, despite her community’s rejection, that He desired to highlight. He asked, “Who touched my clothes?” Not to expose her in a negative way but to change her legacy, so that she will forever be known as the woman who touched Jesus with her faith.
The crowd crowded around Jesus, pressing against His garments wanting Jesus to notice them. However, this woman did not want to be noticed, she was reaching out with her faith and believed she only had to touch the tiny hem of his garment and that will be enough to heal her. She had deep faith in Him.
Jesus restores her identity
When the woman explained her condition and what she did, Jesus said in verse 34, “Daughter, your faith has made you well, go in peace and be healed of your affliction.” He was restoring her identity when He said “daughter.” She was God’s daughter and important in His eyes, just as much as Jarius’ daughter was important to him.
Jesus sought to restore this woman publicly who had long endured shame. Jesus, knowing He was the Resurrection and the Life, could raise Jarius’ daughter without haste.
In conclusion
You may feel you’re in a similar position to this woman’s story? Perhaps it’s a health issue or a mistake you made that made people put you in a classified box that has made you feel out of place with your community or around your peers.
You may be homeless and nameless to the people walking past you every day.
The King of the universe, who designed you long before your conception, knows your name and what your potential is. Talk to Him about your deep feelings, failings, hopes and dreams.
Let Him heal you from the inside out and breathe life into you once again!
Questions to ponder
- How would you feel if you had a condition that isolated you from your community and family?
- In the absence of a solution despite exhausting resources, what would be your course of action?
- How does faith play a role in your life when facing seemingly insurmountable challenges?
- What steps can we take to help people feeling isolated because of medical conditions?
- How can we better understand and empathise with people suffering from chronic illnesses?
Joanne Sojinu, Author a Mother’s Prayers, Week by Week Devotional For Your Unborn Child