Sigh.......

Oh, how many times have I sighed, either audibly or to myself, when I felt that somebody just didn't get it, or that it was taking too long for me to accomplish my goal?! It is difficult for non-hearing people to speak clearly when they cannot hear  clearly. They cannot distinguish the subtleties of expression and intonation, so they are unable to express them. When Jesus healed the deaf man with the speech impediment, he first healed his ears, then his tongue, saying, "Open up!" Perhaps I need to be told the same thing....to pay attention, to hear, to listen, and then to speak the Word to others. In this healing, just as in the previous one of the woman with the demon-possessed daughter, Jesus healed a Gentile. Was he disappointed that the Jews, to whom he was sent, were less receptive to his message than the Gentiles? Am I, a Christian, less open to God's guidance, his desires for my life, than one who is a seeking non-Christian?
In the case of the Canaanite woman, she came to Jesus, begging for mercy because of her ill daughter. Yes, she was desperate-- for herself and for her daughter. When a loved one is critically ill, it requires much of the family, who cannot support the ill person without support for themselves. Perhaps Jesus was silent, because he was sighing to himself about the needs of the Gentiles vs. the needs of the Jews. Did he need to consider her worthiness? Was her persistence proof of her faith? I pray that I will always know that Jesus will sustain me, even in my desperation, and that I must continue to seek him in all things.