Fearful Faithfulness

It’s not an oxymoron. It’s a condition from which I think a great many people are currently suffering. Myself often included.

As a naturally confident and optimistic person, it’s difficult for me to process fear. When I become fearful or angry, the first ability sabotaged by their presence is my clarity. I can’t articulate. I don’t plan well. And I’m robbed of my Chutzpah—that quality that allows me to stride boldly and purposefully into a situation without concern for my personal safety or the opinions others might form about me.

When fear creeps in, my Faith still exists and sustains me. But my lower case faith…the feeling also closely resembling hope…is diminished. Recently, a friend reminded me:

“It’s hard to be faithful when you’re fearful.”

I have written about that very thing. I’ve reminded us… Fear Not.

Obviously, I needed to revisit my own advice. So I was going to write some instructions to myself in today’s post.

I started with research on the words Fear Not. I wondered how many times those words appeared in the Bible, (I found a great resource—scripturemenu.com ) in the Koran, within practices of Buddhism (which would equate fear with suffering), and in other spiritual practices…basically falling headfirst into the vortex created by that new verb: Googling. I do this sort of research (my friends in academia just choked because I equated Googling with research…sorry!) not so much to provide readers a balanced and inclusive perspective, but more because identifying the common truths that transcend our differences brings me balance.

Today, I was given more than balance. I was given a gift.

I found the Fear Not project.

Incredible.

Within five minutes of finding the site, I cried (big surprise, I know!); I dialed the 800 number for Fear Not radio and listened; I dialed again and participated; and I sent an email off to the founder, Jennifer Maria Harris.

Who knew listening to the voices of random strangers saying, in all voices and languages, “Fear Not”, could transform my morning?!

So this week, what if we repeat that phrase again and again to one another? What if we said it to strangers or to acquaintances in random encounters? What if, with simple phrases…
Fear Not.
Peace be with you.
Namaste.
You are loved.
Be well.
…we begin to transform the world? You’ve seen the power words and talking points have. Look at the fear and anger they’ve generated. Let’s arm ourselves with a few good words to start a revolution of our own, beginning in our own spirits and ending…well, I guess the expression is ture… heaven only knows where the ripples of our efforts end.

Fear Not.

Grow goodness, friends.

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