I have been very troubled over the past few days regarding hearing about the deliberate exclusion of a child I know from a sibling photo session. The reason doesn't really matter, my angst is in the intentional judgment, exclusion, and ostracising of a child.  This is the stuff that legacies are made of, and this is not a lovely legacy.   In the mean time, this morning in the devotional I was reading, it was pointed out that Jarius's daughter aged 12 and the woman with the issue of blood lasting 12 years are purposely bound together within one story. I hadn't really thought about the common bond of 12 years. I love details like this.   The woman who would have been a social pariah because of her health is now being called daughter. She is in this one word being included and identified as valued, wanted and having a place and stance of belonging.  In the mean time, Jarius' daughter who has been loved, valued and wanted for the exact span of time that the woman has been shunned is left waiting. Jesus does not do this to exclude her, but to highlight the truth, that with God, the value of a person is not dependent on their situation, status, health, wealth, connections, position, gender, social acceptability, beauty, age, creed, colour or even religion. God cares about and is more than willing to restore the broken and disenfranchised. He wants that mending to be abundantly clear to all - the broken woman is a daughter because of her faith,  the broken girl is alive because of faith.  They are given a new lease on life because God does care enough to step into the mess at the appropriate time to bring healing, truth and restoration.
So...what does this have to do with us, with the church, with living with God in mind?  I believe, if we are honest with ourselves, we are all a little or maybe a lot guilty of judging, excluding and ostracizing.  We must stop these actions and change our tactics. We must deal with the people we once cast out. We must embrace, include and genuinely love women and men and children that have been made to feel as if God cursed rather than blessed them. We must find a way to help and advocate for people who are sick, impoverished and excluded. That is the function of people of faith, that is our gig, our purpose.  We must not forget that we were once sick unto death but are now alive. 
As for me, I will be starting a restoration process for a child left out by booking a family photo session.   It can't make up for previous harm done, only God can erase that hurt, but it can establish a position of inclusion, welcome and being a very desired part of a greater whole.