There is something healing about a loving touch. In fact, without a loving touch we die. My association with REACH, International began in 1990, and I was able to observe firsthand the conditions that had resulted in the most dramatic evidence of that claim. It happened in Romania under the oppression of a dictator's agenda. Thousands of babies were displaced from traditional families to state orphanages. The babies received food, water, and shelter, but no loving arms to hold and caress them were provided. The mortality rate was staggering. Scientists learned by studying this tragic experience that we need loving touch to survive.

As Jesus mingled with hurting and broken humanity, He reached out and touched their lives—sometimes with dramatic and instantaneous physical healing, sometimes a healing of the soul, and sometimes, both. That same Jesus mingles with us today through the loving and healing touch of those who bring His abiding presence into the hospital room, the surgery suite, or the clinic.

The Adventist Health System institutions take the responsibility of sharing the healing touch of Christ as their primary reason for existing. Together, they are committed in a partnership with God to bring His healing touch to all.

Gary Burns is the Lake Union Conference communication director.