Note: This month, we'll begin a new series of For Your Soul columns, based on Keri Wyatt Kent's devotional book Oxygen: Deep Breathing for the Soul. Read through the Bible passage slowly, noticing words or phrases that strike you. As you read this story of healing, pay attention to areas of your life that perhaps need a healing touch. After you've read the passage and the reflection that follows it, spend some time praying or journaling your response to God's word.

Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, pleading fervently with him. "My little daughter is dying," he said. "Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live."

Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. ...