THE BIBLE IN MY LIFE May 14, 2007 Issue

HEALING VERSES

JOANN SMEDLEY

MANY PEOPLE MEASURE or assess their life in terms of age, schools, jobs, places they've lived, or any number of other benchmarks. I tend to think more about the Bible verses that have molded and strengthened my thinking, especially when facing challenges. Take, for example, verses 25 and 26 in the third chapter of Proverbs: "Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken."

Just after I married, my mother passed away without warning. It was an overwhelming shock to my unprepared thought, and I immediately went through a period of morbid and constant fear of death, which seriously affected my ability to work.

But along with the Psalms, which I read whenever I could—often through the night—those lines from Proverbs were like a safety net. They assured me that the negative thoughts that were torturing me could never sweep me beyond God's reach. My feet were securely grounded in His love. Gradually, moments of peace came. Then hours. And finally a complete and abiding peace.