I was watching Planet Earth this morning while I was getting ready for work. The producers had planted their crew on top of the highest crest of the Grand Canyon just before dawn, and the sun was slowly rising on the horizon. As the helicopter glided from the highest rim to the lowest valley, I started thinking about where my life has traveled in the past 28 years.
Traveling down from the highest crest to the lowest valley is like a spiritual life. We start off on a “high” but we look below at the enticing scenery and adventure down below. The decent is quick and sometimes fun, the bible says sin will be easy and enjoyable, that’s why it’s so easy to get caught up in it. So we travel farther and farther into the depths of the valley, never looking up. Once we get down there, we realize how far we’ve come. We see that the relationships we made during our descend, aren’t going to help us now that we are at the bottom. We realize that the fun was temporary. We look up and realize that the ascent is going to be long and tiring, and almost impossible. We realize that it may not have been worth it at all. We are cold and tired, we have nothing left. As night falls and we sit at the bottom of the valley, the darkness brings out the evils of the world. Coyotes snarl at us, thunderstorms echo in the distance, tumbleweeds travel around us as the winds stir up the dust and the muck. We are alone, afraid, and we have nothing left but the distance we traveled and the consequences of our decisions.
The consequences can either make or break us. We can decide to get up and start the long journey ahead to get back to the top, or we can lay there, naked, alone, and cold with out a hope left in us. As we decide to get up, the morning sunrise sends us a ray of hope that sets our hearts on fire and motivates us to “just go”. We know its going to be long. It’s going to take twice as long to get back to the top, and we are going to face a lot of obstacles on the way. But, if we keep our heads high and our eyes on the finish, we can battle the obstacles and the results will be well worth it. In the end, we will stand on the rim of our valley, looking down at how far we’ve come.
God warns us of those valleys, He doesn’t keep us from them, and He is right next to us as we descend into them, but, the ultimate choice is ours. Even after we choose to travel down there, He is still at the top, waiting for us to come back up.
I’m grateful for the valleys in my life. I hate that I chose them, and I hate the work it takes to get out of them, but I’m grateful for what I learned, how I was challenge, and the way they changed my life. I wouldn’t want to go thru them again, and the consequences hurt, and I hurt a lot of other people, but the experience has made me better understand Gods desire for my life and how to prevent myself from running into the valley’s in the future.
I’m thankful for those who stood at the top of my valley waiting for me to come out of it, and cheering me on as I made the final ascend to the top.
So, as the sun sets on this last valley, and I press on thru the consequences and affects it had on my life, I look ahead at the high crests I can see in the distance and chose to remain in Gods will and obey Him.
Part of a Generation
Daughter, Sister, Sister In Law, Mother
Wife and Mother
Sister In Law
Sister 
