Have you ever been told, “You are so sensitive!”? Have you then wondered, “What’s wrong with me?” It can be hard to know what to do after being told this.We wonder and we worry, “Am I? What do I do? Will people think I’m stupid? Can I keep going? You may feel very exposed and even more sensitive after being seen and labeled as such. Perhaps even more vulnerable now. Maybe you feel like a flame that is going to be sputtered out. Maybe the pressure is on to be on your highest game now and you feel the stress of people’s expectations. We may even look at it as a character flaw. Every personality is so different and each have varying levels of sensitivity. Some might be due to trauma and hardship from the past or maybe you just love people so much and want to serve them. Then this episode is for you. Also for people who may just be trying to understand a sensitive loved one. Did you know there is a woman in the bible who displays sensitivity for others? It is not a flaw but a gift. Don’t believe me? Today we are going to study Dorcas (Tabitha) in the book of Acts. Every woman has a calling to live out this sensitive side of her to nurture and feed those around us. To be a mother to our children and those around us.

Pope Francis says, “I see clearly that the thing the Church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the Church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds, heal the wounds….And you have to start from the ground up.” He goes on to explain, “the ministers of the Gospel must be people who can warm the hearts of the people, who walk through the dark night with them, who know how to dialogue and to descend themselves into their people’s night, into the darkness, but without getting lost.” Isn’t that beautiful? Accompany others. We can only do that if our heart is moved by sensitivity. Women are especially good at this. We want to mother and love everyone we meet. Or maybe we feel a hardness or harshness because we were wounded in this area. Perhaps we didn’t have anyone to walk with us to show us how. Maybe we were misunderstood and since then cannot bring ourselves to show understanding no matter how hard we try. It’s okay. God wants to heal this part of you. He wants to warm your heart and love you here. The question is will we let him?

How does one even begin to do this? The first and primary way is prayer. Keep asking and pressing in even when/if it feels like God might be being silent here. It takes time to thaw a hardened heart. How? By allowing ourselves to encounter the warmness of God’s heart. Did you know that Holy Mother Church has prayers for this? (St. Micheal Center for Healing with Monsg Rossetti. He prays these prayers for people and I highly recommend him.) We start with any wounds of unforgiveness and then we move onto spiritual maladies. Remember when we talked of spiritual entities waging war on us? (Episode six) Then we deal with physical maladies. Both can be caused by the attack of the evil one. Jesus loves when we come to Him for healing and He will not ignore us. Sometimes the timing isn’t right and He carries us to the right time. Other times, it is based on our response to His trying to. Basically our openness and cooperation and faith or other’s faith for us. Do we have sin in the way? And thirdly He answers yes right away and we experience deep healing. (Look up Hebrews 4:1-5, 11 Ps 78 and Mark 2:1-12 the paralytic). We have to trust that God wants to bring us healing. He just can’t do it if we don’t want it or see a need for healing. We have to ask. Did you know that by the order of your baptism you can also pray for healing over others and yourself? There are three methods, 1)indirectly asking God the Father/Jesus the saints for it, 2)Physically doing what you might be seeing in the spiritual realm, 3) The prayer of command in the name of Jesus to a specific body part or helping the person renounce, reject or refuse a spirit in their heart. God commands all his disciples to do this but some people are exceptionally gifted in this area and others have received training to do this. And priests should be or are most equipped. Some don’t realize this gift they have been given.

Now let’s turn to our passage. It’s short so I’m going to read it for you. And later you can look it up on your own. Now there was at Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which means Dorcas or Gazelle. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him entreating him, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter rose and went with them. And when he had come, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping, and showing coats and garments which Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, rise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. – Acts 9:36-43

Let’s break this down. She was full of good works and acts of charity. That means she had a servant’s heart and cared for those who were most in need. She was a sweetheart that did not think of herself and an expert seamstress who made things for those who didn’t have the means. This is not speculation. It is reading between the lines. Do you hear their urgency in asking Peter to come? And see all the widows stood beside him weeping, and showing coats and garments which Dorcas made while she was with them. She was a very loved member of the community but not just to the saints (members of the Church) but to the community at large. Peter was moved. It brought out in him compassion. When a woman lives out her sensitive side of service, we bring out the best in others and especially in our male companions. He prays a prayer of command and what happens?  She opened her eyes and when she saw Peter she sat up. Um stop there. Can you imagine? What if you were at a wake and someone came up praying a prayer of command over the dead person to rise. AND THEY DID. Wouldn’t the whole family and community begin talking about it? That is exactly what happened. We need people who are willing to be bold in asking God for things and trust that His answer would be in the person’s best interest whatever it is.

This shows a strategy of God to bring people to him. Catching people’s attention and calling to communion. How? Healings. Acts of Service. God’s power through others. It says And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. People need to see faith in us. They need to see someone who trusts and asks God boldly for things. People need people to lean on in times of difficulty and trial. Tabitha was that sort of person. The Amen App has a great story on her. (Listen Here) Peter saw that God’s power would bring many to belief. It wasn’t about her anymore but about something bigger. And yet, it also was about her. He was moved by her spirit and felt the lack that would be in the community without her. He experienced a deep movement of heart. When we are open to the movement of our or another’s heart great things can happen. This requires receptivity and it requires faith. It requires a special kind of eyes in observation. Women are naturally very good at this. We see details. (Take for example the wedding feast at Cana and what Mary does if you need another example.) 

What Peter does showcases this. Peter turns everyone out so He can be alone with God. His pining becomes a prayer. In trust he asks, and she is risen. We need to take the same risk. What’s the worst that can happen? People still experience what has been bothering them or maybe a partial healing, or a spiritual healing, or a progressive healing based on faithfulness…This is what we explain when we pray with people so they are not brought away from faith. God’s timing is not always ours but He likes to be asked. That asking builds spiritual muscles which is why God sometimes says no or not yet. We need to lean in. What God sees is the person who believes with all his/her heart that what is said will happen sooner or later but with trust and cooperation. This is definitely my own experience. It is a combination of all parts of my heart and a cooperation with others. Asking people for those prayers, seeing multiple doctors, a counselor, and my own prayer. I just had a little miracle through the St. Micheal Center. My sleep apnea is suddenly improving after 4 years of being stuck and exhausted. But now I am so much stronger. I’ve spent four years starting from hopelessness, moving to faith and trying to have a heart open to God’s will. I asked and it happened. Yes this is a combination of things (like losing some weight and getting my hormones in order and some medication) but it is happening!

My vision for Two Hearts True Healing is to be that heart for others to lean on. How? By leaning on Jesus’ Heart so I can be that heart to others.That actually comes first. To be a healing person, one has to experience healing themselves. We are wounded healers. If you are interested in having a prayer session, reach out to Two Hearts True Healing. I do have some training through Encounter Ministries and personal experience and I am growing my team. If you are interested in picking up this mission, reach out or If you just need someone to lean on, I am here. www.twoheartstruehealing.com or personally at twohesrtstruehealing@outlook.com . I pray for all of you daily and hold you in my heart. Until next time, God Bless and Keep You!

Resources:

Amen App Tabitha

St. Micheal’s Center for Healing–next prayer session is in February

Abiding Together Podcast–Motherhood and Sensitivity

Subscribe on Substack to never miss an episode

You can also find me on FaceBook, Instagram, YouTube, and Linked In.