Talitha Koum - Rise Up Little Girl

It’s funny how some things in life stick with you. It might be a passing comment made by a friend, a Bible passage or line that you read which particularly resonates with your situation, a particularly thought-provoking podcast, newspaper article or ‘tweet’. Often, what you remember as being particularly profound was in actual fact a short snippet of a bigger picture: a snapshot of a whole and yet an Epiphany Moment for you in that stage in your life. 

My Epiphany Moment happened in a Butlins marquee in Minehead. In fact, to call it a marquee would be too generous. It was, all pretence aside, a large tent and a pretty unstable one at that. This oversized  tepee was the destination of a Women’s Seminar - part of the Christian festival, Spring Harvest. Mum and I had turned up in the hope for some empowering, inspirational Woman-to-Woman teaching – the sort that sets you up to go out and ‘spread the Word’ enthusiastically. Despite my best intentions, I would be lying if I said I paid attention for the entirety of the two hour session. In actual fact, I spent a large amount of time locating the nearest exits as the flimsy canvas walls flapped dramatically in the wind and the tent creaked and groaned against the adverse coastal weather conditions. 

Luckily the speaker was a determined sort and, regardless of the less than ideal surroundings, she continued her talk, at a slightly higher decibel, valiantly ignoring the developing hurricane swirling ferociously around our abode.

It was in a 10 minute break from planning my emergency exit that I heard a profound and potentially life changing message. 

Talitha Koum.

It means ‘Rise up Little Girl’.

The speaker explained it in the context of the biblical passage in which it features. Jesus commands Jairus’s dead daughter to get up… and, in short, she does (Mark 5:41 – give it a read). It’s remarkable, miraculous stuff. An awesome story of healing. But it wasn’t the story itself that hit me. It was the message which followed. A practical message which speaks powerfully into my own life in the 21^st Century…

Rise Up Little Girl. 

Stand tall and step confidently into the future plans I have for you. Don’t settle for a grey, meaningless life, but grab the opportunities provided by each and every day with joy and thanksgiving. Live your life in technicolour. Look around you at the beauty of the World. Search for the beauty within people. Love others and serve them unreservedly. Be blessed and bless others in return.

The wind of life will howl menacingly around you. Much of the time you will feel out of control. BUT stand firm. Stay anchored. Live a life worthy of the Lord.