Following the tour, many of you have been asking for Emma’s spoken introduction to the song “I am here for you” from the concert. Raw, honest, vulnerable and moving, it invariably provoked a response of tears and applause from many who heard it. Here it is in full.
EMMA:
As we wrote this song, friendship became a very prominent theme, and walking the journey of life with the hurt and broken, right in the midst of their suffering – NOT when it’s over and ‘tidy and done’ – but right in the messy, uncomfortable heart of suffering that is very present and real in our Churches, our communities, and our personal friendships.
We talked earlier in the concert about grief with my uncle Phil and the song ‘Keep You Here’, and I want that to lead us into a wider conversation about mental health.
Because: there are Christians with Mental Health problems.
There are people with depression, with schizophrenia, with anorexia, with PTSD… to name literally just a few.
And I’m one of those people too!
So this song is an encouragement to walk beside one another, acknowledging that we are all broken in some form. And the way we are called to support and love one another is a reflection of the way God loves and supports us.
So to answer the question of “What does COURAGE really mean to me?”
COURAGE is accepting that I am broken; that I am not ‘fixed’; but that I am still ‘enough’ to stand here.
It takes:
COURAGE to tell my family and friends that on a bad day I am not doing okay.
COURAGE to accept their support and love.
COURAGE to cry when I want to look strong.
COURAGE to strip away my anger and confront the pain beneath.
COURAGE to face my past.
COURAGE to look at my future.
COURAGE sometimes just to wake up; get up.
COURAGE to live each day.
COURAGE to hit the bottom and get back up again.
COURAGE to forgive myself and acknowledge that I am forgiven.
COURAGE to dare to believe in a God who loves me unconditionally.
COURAGE to say I am Emma with Mental Health problems, not Mental Health problems called Emma.
COURAGE is coming exactly as I am.
COURAGE is listening to the quiet voice in the mayhem that says: ‘I am here for you’.
Emma Townend.
You can watch the song video here
The song lyrics are here
#couragemeans
#iamhereforyou
