The Valley
Descending down the hill began at a slow steady pace.
Day by day speed built and I quickly found myself in a low place.
I looked back to the place from whence I had come.
I looked back to the starting line of where the race had begun.
How did this happen? How could this be?
Why now? Why me?
In the valley, there is an engulfing kind of still.
In the valley is where dreads and "what ifs" seem to become real.
Valleys are quite places for the most part.
Valleys are where you can best hear the beating of your own heart.
In the valley is where you find what you are made of.
In the valley noble efforts are made to rise above,
When attempt after attempt ends only in defeat.
Even the strong, the valley makes weak.
In a weak and broken, humble state of mind,
I look back at the place I left behind.
On the hill, I danced and sang in the presence of God's watchful eye.
Joy, peace, abundance, wellness, not a cloud in the sky.
I found a Friend in Jesus each happy day.
I found Him to be a companion all along the way.
Now today other names of Jesus and all that He can do,
Brings light into the valley as my hope becomes new.
He is a Comforter, a Deliverer, a Rescuer for all who call His name.
Whether on the hill or in the valley, Jesus Christ is always the same.
The Lord truly is MY Shepherd and I want for nothing you see
For even in this valley He is holding my hand and walking right beside me.
jbp