{"id":2277,"date":"2010-06-21T10:00:19","date_gmt":"2010-06-21T10:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/2010\/06\/be-not-afraid.html"},"modified":"2010-06-21T10:00:19","modified_gmt":"2010-06-21T10:00:19","slug":"be-not-afraid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/06\/be-not-afraid.html","title":{"rendered":"Mindful Monday: Be Not Afraid"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"jesus<\/span>
\nI used to sing “Be Not Afraid,”<\/a> in the shower as an anxious child. It was the one song that gave me great comfort, and every time I hear it, at Sunday Mass or at a funeral, I tear up. It never occurred to me that the last line of this song, “Come follow me, and I shall give you rest,” is exactly what was written at the base of the Jesus statue in the Hopkins building, where I experienced the first moment of hope after eighteen months of suicidal depression.
\nI don’t think I would have associated the two had not a gracious reader of my Guideposts piece (in which I described that moment in front of the Jesus statue)<\/a> been so kind as to make a card for me with the Jesus statue on the front with the words “Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” A day later, when we sang the hymn at church, I realized the message of hope was connected: the words I sang as a scared girl and the promise of rest I needed as a depressed and worn-out mother.
\nIn case some of you haven’t ever heard “Be Not Afraid,”<\/a> here are the lyrics. I hope they give you comfort and consolation, as well.
\nBe Not Afraid<\/strong>
\nBy Bob Dufford
\nYou shall cross the barren desert,
\nbut you shall not die of thirst.
\nYou shall wander far in safety,
\nthough you do not know the way.<\/p>\n


\nYou shall speak your words in foreign lands,
\nand all will understand,
\nYou shall see the face of God and live.
\nBe not afraid,
\nI go before you always,
\nCome follow Me,
\nand I shall give you rest.
\nIf you pass through raging waters
\nin the sea, you shall not drown.
\nIf you walk amidst the burning flames,
\nyou shall not be harmed.
\nIf you stand before the pow’r of hell
\nand death is at your side,
\nknow that I am with you, through it all
\nBe not afraid,
\nI go before you always,
\nCome follow Me,
\nand I shall give you rest.
\nBlessed are your poor,
\nfor the Kingdom shall be theirs.
\nBlest are you that weep and mourn,
\nfor one day you shall laugh.
\nAnd if wicked men insult and hate you, all because of Me,
\nblessed, blessed are you!
\nBe not afraid,
\nI go before you always,
\nCome follow Me,
\nand I shall give you rest.<\/p>\n

* Click here to subscribe to Beyond Blue<\/b><\/a> and click here to follow Therese on Twitter<\/b><\/a> and click here to join Group Beyond Blue<\/b><\/a>, a depression support group. Now stop clicking.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I used to sing “Be Not Afraid,” in the shower as an anxious child. It was the one song that gave me great comfort, and every time I hear it, at Sunday Mass or at a funeral, I tear up. 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