To Believe in the Power of Life Changing Touch

One of the first things this juvenile hamadryas baboon learned was the value of touch. He was born with a strong ability to grip in order to hang onto mom while she foraged for food throughout the day.

This soon grew into an awareness of grooming, which in the primate world is a valuable commodity. They groom in order to reap benefits in their social order and to build and maintain alliances.

Not all primates use grooming to the same ends but all of them reap one main benefit: it contributes to the emotional stability of the entire troop. Touch is essential to their development and those deprived of it suffer anxiety, exhibit stress, and according to some researchers, depression similar to humans.

I saw a friend today who recently suffered a family tragedy. Though I have communicated with her a few times since then, I have not been able to see her in person.

Today, all I wanted to do was give her a hug. We stood in the emptying room holding each other for a while whispering our heartfelt feelings. It was as though that hug, the ability to touch her, amplified all I was trying to convey.

My thought was only for her, but I walked away having been uplifted as well.

I thought about all the touching we do as a community of people and how we missed that during the pandemic.

Touch is our first sensation. It is also the thing we want most at the end of our life.

Holding my hand was all that my mother wanted as she lay close to death.

Jesus didn’t need to touch in order to heal as evidenced by His making whole the centurion’s servant and calling forth Lazarus from the dead.

But the Master Healer seemed to take every opportunity to reach out and touch with infinite compassion.

Touching even the leper.

Healing more than just the body.

And His arm is stretched out still…