In Encounter Grace, Becky Eldredge references the story of the woman bent over for 18 years (Luke 13:11) and concludes, “While I was not physically bent over by a spirit, listening to other people’s voices over God’s was weighing me down.” Consider how the story of the woman resonates in your life and what weighs you down, so that you can bring your cares to Jesus.
As you reflect, enjoy these blog posts inspired by Luke 13:10–17:
- A Completely New Life by Rebecca Ruiz
- Set Free by Loretta Pehanich
- Come Here by Mary Ann Gessner
Image via the Brooklyn Museum. James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Woman with an Infirmity of Eighteen Years (La femme malade depuis dix-huit ans), 1886-1896. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 9 1/2 x 7 1/8 in. (24.1 x 18.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.144 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 00.159.144_PS2.jpg).
Participating in our Lenten read-along of Encounter Grace? Share your thoughts about this week’s reading in the comments below. And post your thoughts, favorite quotes, or reactions with #lentreadalong on social media.
 resonates when we are weighed down.){kind=link}
The story of the woman bent over for eighteen years is striking precisely because her healing is described in terms of being straightened up and freed. Eldredge’s insight about external voices doing the weighing down points to how much of what loads us is internalized over time rather than structurally imposed. The invitation to notice what is carrying you and bring it to prayer feels like a gentle form of the same attentiveness the story itself models.
Bending low, Jesus uplifts the lowly.