Mountains and Valleys


 

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want,

He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name sake. Psalm 23:1, 3

My husband and I live in Florida. It is flat here, very flat. Having transplanted from upstate New York, that flatness was odd at first. Now, rolling hills, valleys, mountains, those are things we visit and feel awe.

As each of us walks our faith we often encounter teachings, sermons, devotional messages about the mountains and the valleys. We want, we're told, the mountain top experience, where we can see for miles, beauty, majesty. I love the view from the top of the mountain. While visiting Tennessee, Otto and I went to Clingmans Dome, which is the highest point in Tennessee. It is magnificent.

Let me get back to, we live in Florida, flat, flat Florida. I'm not an athlete of any kind. I'm a grandma in decent but certainly not good shape. That walk to Clingmans Dome was not easy. It was beautiful and awe inspiring, even on the way up, even as I had to stop to catch my breath. It was gorgeous but it was a climb.

Later we would travel back down and gaze up at where we'd been. The view from below, to me, is equally beautiful. I have three pictures of the same tower. One is from above, taken while we were ascending. One is from below, taking from the valley. The third one was taken from our balcony and is about at the same level as the tower. It's the same tower but the size, color, and location all seem a little different in each picture.

Right now I am in what some would call a valley. There are things in my life that I would never have chosen. There are things that I hate and that is when people say, “oh you're in the valley.” Hm, no, I don't think so. I think I'm on the climb. It's hard. Often I can't catch my breath. My heart hurts. I get angry too quickly and I don't like this. To quote my precious three year-old granddaughter, Harper Rosie, “I'm sick of this! I'm done with this.! I'm over it!” This doesn't seem like a lush, green valley with an upward view of majesty and beauty. It seems like one painstaking step after another. It doesn't feel like the walking ascent to Clingmans Dome. It feels like the treacherous ascent we see when people are strapped in and clinging to the side of a rocky mountain.

The mountain top is beautiful. The valley is beautiful. It's the climb up and the often hurtling fall back down that are far from beautiful. I'm aware that my perspective is a bit different from the cliché, mountain/valley perspective. Here on my current climb, fall back, climb, fall back journey I know one thing for sure, God is with me. He is for me. He is holding me up, sending angels to be sure that I don't hit my foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:11-12) Regardless of where I am in the journey, God is good and His will is best.

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