The Valley

Valley: a long, low area between hills

Most of our sojourn in this life is in The Valley. We often associate these 'valleys' with challenging terrains, places of great difficulty, adversity, and trouble.

The valley can be a lonely place. Even when others we know are very close by.

The valley can be wrought with discouragement, heaviness, and even despair.
The valley is filled with shadows that can seem to cause our troubles to appear larger than life and more frightening than we care to face.

The last place we really want to be is in The Valley. Too many dark places creeping along the horizon with no light in sight. And we wonder sometimes where we went wrong, how we even got there, and when we'll get out.

I'm reminded of Hannah Hurnard's book, Hinds Feet on High Places, when Much Afraid, the main character in this classic spiritual allegory, is following the Shepherd on the mountain and sees just how close she is to the top and is looking forward to reaching the summit, only to be led down in to The Valley of Humiliation once more. Despair fills her heart and her hopes are dashed. But the Shepherd encourages her and reminds her of the beauty she has yet to behold that can only be seen in The Valley.

Yes, The Valley can be a very painful place, but the growth we can experience in the process can produce in us the most authentic beauty we could never imagine until we see it for ourselves. When we look back on our travels through those dense, heavy places, we then see the changes that have taken place in our hearts and minds that we may not have been aware of until now.

We find we have more faith, more trust, more peace, and more joy as a result of our traverse.

But before that breathtaking sight comes into view, we must face the very things we fear the most- dead on.

That may seem like a frightful proposition, and it certainly could be if we were to attempt facing it alone. But that need not be.

"Though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear NO evil; for Thou art with me." (Ps.23:4 KJV)

When we know we have One who guides us, protects us, and keeps us safe with every slippery unseen step, we can be filled with courage, endurance, persistence, perseverance, and hope that we will find the Light we so desperately seek. One step at a time. One heartbeat at at time. One breath at a time.

Until the most ultimate sunrise you could ever imagine breaks over the horizon, and suddenly our fears dissipate, our longings are fulfilled, our despair is turned to joy, and what we sought doesn't compare to what we have found.

Oh, the joy that floods our soul!

It is then that we realize how goodness and mercy have followed us through every shadow and slippery crevice, and now we stand in the Light and Life of the Creator in all its glory.

Ultimately, The Valley is our Friend. Where we face our fears and meet with our grandest victories.

So, don't be afraid. There is One who stands by you. And will lead you where you need to go.
All you have to do is follow.

© 2011 by Dawn Herring