Then, the disciples roundly dismiss the woman with the "loving" suggestion, "Lord, get rid of her; she keeps pestering us!" The woman persists. Finally, Jesus speaks a word of hope and the woman's daughter is healed. Whew! Was Jesus having a bad day or what? Well, all is not as it appears. Years ago, I received a great insight into this Gospel while reading it with a priest friend. After reading it, Fr. Jim paused and said to me somberly, "Patrick, sometimes in life it seems like even God is against us!" Of course, the operative word here is "seems". Maybe you have never felt this way, but chances are that that day is coming. Moses once asked God to kill him because life was so miserable. Job wished he had never been born. Even Jesus asked, "My God, why have you abandoned me!" Of course, God hadn't abandoned him at all ~ but it sure did feel like it! The Lord wants us to be prepared for these moments by having us learn from this gloriously stubborn woman who refused to walk away from Jesus even when it seemed he could care less. In fact, nobody cared more about her needs. It may be a fact that you feel alone, but in fact your feelings do not speak the truth. The truth is, God is with you ~ and is the truth that will make you free to follow Jesus in all circumstances!