"Father, you give and take away.
Every joy and every pain.
Through it all you still remain,
over it all."
Deep. Dark. Despair. Desperate heart clinging on to the last shred of hope. Times I find myself stuck in a valley. Sometimes I am almost comfortable in my misery. Afraid to try to climb up and out. Because I am afraid of falling. Of failing. Of taking 2 small steps forward only to be thrown one big step back.
Because I've been there. It's daunting. Scary. I am tired, worn, weary. I start the climb, but a huge rock comes rolling down, almost crushing me. I get back up, shake off the dirt and start the climb again. Sometimes I am crawling with bleeding hands and a more damaged heart. Getting up the hill is hard and the view from the top will reveal more valleys that I will have to walk through.
Ever feel like if I am trying to do everything right, how come things always end up wrong? Sometimes this is me every day. Like what's the point? I try so hard, but I'm not getting anywhere. And yet deep in my heart I know the valley experiences grow me more than the hill-top moments.
The hill-top moments are great. I love them. Who doesn't? But maybe we spend more time in the valleys, because it forces us to look up- to fix our eyes on He who created the hills and the valleys both.
Maybe it's because the refining fire in the valley is molding me, molding you into some sort of precious jewel. A diamond in the ruff. The most beautiful kind-the one created under the most pressure.
The valleys are hard. We strive for hill-top moments. We want the job offer. The good news that someone we love is coming home. The suffering coming to an end. The illnesses to stop. The healing to begin.
And yet sometimes God keeps us in the valley moments. We aren't getting the job offers. Loved ones don't come home. The suffering continues. The illness persists. The healing is nowhere in sight.
And we don't understand or know why. We may never. Goodbyes cut our hearts in two. Seeing loved ones suffer makes us sick. And yet somehow, He is still Lord over it all. And Somehow, He is still good.
So next time you find yourself in the valley, dreading the climb, revel in the moment. Embrace the journey as much as you can. Doesn't mean you will be smiling all the time. Or that you won't be mad. Or hurt. Or depressed. But delight in the fact that the Lord who created you has a purpose- and this valley serves a purpose too. We may not see it, but He does.
So I will dance in this valley and when the storms come, may I never stop.
Lord, help me to find joy in the valleys. Because no matter what, He is still good.
And He is over it all. He's God of the hills.....and the valleys.
Amen.
