Is it really well?....Part 2: The Journey Through the Valley

It is well....with my soul? Is it? Loss it is inevitable. We are going to suffer loss. Each of us, at some point in our lives, will experience loss, and how we go through loss, how we react, can ultimately determine the journey our lives will take.  Going through the valley after a loss, it is not easy. There are moments where you feel like giving up, there are moments when you fail to believe there is truly a light at the end,  but through it you must journey, through it you must persevere. Loss it is inevitable...loss it will lead you into a valley..."though I walk through the valley."

If you have been to the mountains, there is only one way to the valley, down...and there is only one way out of the valley, up. Getting into the valley is pretty easy, for the most part, you are walking downhill, you aren't having to work too hard, and you arrive there rather quickly. Then as you stand in the valley and look around, all you see is one peak, after another peak, after another, and you have a choice, you either continue wandering through the valley or you start climbing back up the mountain. What an image of life, how quickly our life can go from being on the mountain to hitting the floor of the valley...a phone call, a conversation, the movement of life and the ceasing of movement, an email, a text, a foolish decision, a harsh word, a delayed action, an omitted action, a pink slip of paper, within the matter of seconds our knees have hit the floor and our life is thrown into a valley. We look around and we look up and all we see is peak, after another peak, after another peak. Loss it is inevitable...loss it will lead you into a valley..."though I walk through the valley."

It seems when the storm clouds of life hit, they hit quickly and they hit hard....and the keep hitting. You stand in the valley and you wonder . You wonder why is this happening? What have I done? What have they done? She doesn't deserve this, they don't deserve this, I don't deserve this. You throw up what seems like answerless prayers in hope that the Lord is listening. You feel like each time you make it with one knee off the ground ready to stand something hits you and knocks you right back down. You are looking around the valley wondering is there any way out, how long am I to stand here, and then you realize, the only way out is to climb uphill. Loss it is inevitable...loss it will lead you into a valley..."though I walk through the valley."

Standing in the midst of the valley, you have a choice. You have a choice in how you are going to react, how you are going to survive, how you are going to make it through. The actions you take and the choices you make will determine the attitudes and behaviors you exhibit throughout the rest of life's journey. Loss it is inevitable...loss it will lead you into a valley..."though I walk through the valley."

It is so easy as you are going through the valley to get swept away in the emotions and the moment. Feelings and emotions and senses are heightened, judgement and discernment are impaired. Questions, doubt, unbelief, fear, anger, sadness all linger like the smell of smoke after leaving a southern establishment. Bitterness can build inside that as it builds can snuff out any hope of joy and peace in the future. Relationships can become as rocky as the soil you are standing on and blame can be passed to anyone who is standing within firing range of your words and deeds. You look to the heavens and wonder  is He really paying any attention to what is going on or is there something else He cares about more. You promise yourself if one more person tries to quote Romans 8:28 to you, you are going to rip the page out of your Bible and say it never existed.  But then, you know there has to be hope, so try to search scriptures in hope of something to hold onto and you see scripture after scripture where the Lord is promising "good to those who love Him," "a hope and a future, not to harm," "a supplier of all my needs according to His glorious riches;" you read where He promises comfort and peace, you read of miracles that happened by just a touch of the hem of His garment, and you wonder why Jesus, why can this not happen to me. Where is the good, where is the comfort, the peace, the hope, the future, the supplier of my needs? Every valley brings you to a moment of choice, do I stand here and let the bitterness and doubt consume me or do I get off the ground, put one foot in front of the other, one hand in front of the other and begin to climb to the top of this mountain? Do I truly believe the promises of the Lord, do I truly believe that ALL things that happen in my life have come through the hands of the One Person Who is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, Sovereign over all, or do I let satan and his forces look at the Lord and say, "I knew she would curse your face" (Job 1)? Even Jesus, the Messiah, was tested as humans were, even the Lord had to endure valleys, God Himself saw the Son hanging on the cross with the weight of EVERYone's sin on His shoulders. If He can endure the cross, I can endure the valley. Loss it is inevitable...loss it will lead you into a valley..."though I walk through the valley."

You begin to look around the valley, you determine you are going to not wander aimlessly, you decide you are going to climb and you look up and you look around and instead of seeing peak upon peak, you see there are moments of beauty within the valley, the creek that meanders along next to you, the pool of water collecting from a waterfall overhead, the bird that soars from the cliff above and lands next to you before taking off again to another destination.  You begin to count your blessings, you begin to believe again. You see you have a hope that can not be taken away. You realize that there is something inside of you that can not be taken away. You choose to be a joyful instead of miserable. You choose to quench the flames of bitterness. You choose to live in the light of the Son and let Him pull you to the top of the mountain. You push down the pride inside and you let your family and your inner circle pick you up, pray for you, encourage you, uplift you and intercede. You become vulnerable, transparent, and open, not with everyone but with those one or two you know that are your warriors, the ones you know are there for you not for their own good, the ones who will throughout the rest of your life point you towards the cross, who are praying when you do not know, who are loving and caring for you through all things. You realize that while the journey is unique to you, you have a faith, you have a hope. Loss it is inevitable...loss it will lead you into a valley..."though I walk through the valley."

One of my favorite authors to read is Ann Voskamp and an artist I am growing to appreciate is Christa Wells. I was looking today for a video of the song "Image of God" and realized there was a connection between these two ladies, Christa Wells wrote "Image of God" for praise and worship for Ann Voskamp, amazing how the Lord works out connections! I could not find a video and importing music links I do not understand yet, but I have copied the lyrics below. As we go through the valley, we have a choice, are we going to bask in our misery or are we going to slowly begin to regain the joy that once was inside and as a believer is not able to go away....as a fruit of the Spirit we possess it already.  Loss it is inevitable...loss it will lead you into a valley..."though I walk through the valley."

"Image of God"

Bare feet stepping on glass
We break along life’s paths
Our fear and loss, we bring it all to you
Soul-breather, making all things new
You’re making all things new
We come in pieces
We come in fragments
We come discolored
To the foot of the cross
Our Maker sees us
All that we have been
Bonds us together
The Image of God
Clay vessels molded for His own
Shall we question him who holds
And shapes us, for His perfect use
Soul-breather, making all things new
You’re making all things new
Soil breaking for the seed
Seed breaking for the life
His life broken for the soul
We are remade whole, remade whole

As I have hiked many mountains, I have yet to be with anyone who decided to wander the valley as opposed to climbing back up the hill. This journey is my own but I have a hope and a future, and I know that as I go through valleys, there is only one way out...put on my shoes, pick myself off of the ground, place one foot in front of the other, and if I can't move, the Lord will hold me in His hands and my inner circle of those dearest to me will guide me. "When it is dark, God has us in the rock's cleft, covered with His hand. Dark may be the holiest ground; God's passing by."- Ann Voskamp