CCOG Newsletter

Have you ever spent time with someone and you just knew that their mind was somewhere else? Have you been that person - physically you are in one location, but your mind was drifting to more pressing (or, if you are honest, more interesting) things? On the other hand, have you ever been around someone who really gave you their full attention? It probably made you feel really seen and heard. I can remember a few encounters like that - feeling like the person opposite me was unrushed and fully attentive to what I had to say.

I confess that there are times that I am not attentive to that level. My mind is often racing through what I plan to do next. But I am learning (and you can too) to slow down and be present. As you will notice in the devotion included below, this is how Jesus treated people - unhurried and fully attentive. Let's make it a point to do the same.

Mark 5:25 - 34
"And a woman was there who had been subject 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. At once Jesus realized 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.”

Jesus had somewhere to be.

That’s the part we miss when we read this story quickly. He was literally walking toward an emergency. A child was dying. A father with influence was begging. The crowd was growing. The pressure was high.

But then Jesus stopped.

A woman who had suffered for twelve years touched His cloak. She didn’t ask for the microphone. She didn’t demand attention. She didn’t make a scene. She tried to take her healing quietly and disappear back into the noise.

But Jesus wouldn’t let her stay invisible. He knew she needed more than physical healing and that for the rest of time the world needed to learn through her.

He stops the momentum, interrupts the schedule, and asks, “Who touched me?” He wasn’t confused. He was intentional. He wanted her to know she wasn’t an inconvenience. He wanted the crowd to see that people are never interruptions to God. No matter how unclean you are, He is there to heal and comfort you.

This is the difference between being busy and being available.

A lot of us are effective at motion but terrible at awareness. We notice meetings, deadlines, metrics, and margins, but we miss the person right in front of us. We miss the moment when God is trying to move. We miss the quiet signal that someone is breaking inside and needs us. Needs someone who doesn’t seem too busy to care.

In business, awareness is what keeps a great company healthy. The best leaders don’t just read reports; they read rooms. They sense culture. They notice when a key person’s energy shifts. They catch problems while they are still whispers instead of waiting until they become fires.

In the home, awareness is leadership. It’s noticing the tone in your spouse’s voice. It’s seeing the subtle withdrawal in your kid. It’s recognizing that “I’m fine” usually means “I’m not.”

Wild availability begins with spiritual alertness. If your life has zero margin, you will have zero sensitivity. The enemy loves a leader who’s productive but numb.

Jesus shows us that power flows where awareness lives, and the strongest leaders are the ones who can see, hear, and stop what is important for the who, which should always be more important.

Brave Truth: Your pace can kill your purpose. Awareness keeps you available.

Action Steps:

1. Build 15 minutes of margin today (no phone, no agenda).
2. Ask God: “Who do You want me to notice?”
3. Intentionally engage one person you’d normally pass.

Reflection Questions:

• What “interruption” might actually be a divine assignment?
• Where has my pace dulled my compassion?
• Who in my world feels unseen?