Yea, Though I Walk Through the Valley...

I'm currently "in the valley", if you will... We all love those mountaintop experiences, but the reality is that there isn't too much that grows up there. Growth happens in the valley. We may not like the valley, for though there is growth in the valley in growth there is pain, and we don't particularly like pain as a rule. On the mountaintop we can see for miles, we can see farther than tomorrow, but in the valley our view is obscured; we're forced to concentrate on that which is close around us...

So, I'm wallowing through one of those "valleys" life throws at us. I am lucky, in one respect, because God has allowed me to recognize when I get in one, and that in itself helps temper the low I tend to feel in these valleys of life. As a rule, when we experience an emotional high in life it will be invariably followed by a corresponding low. And, the higher the high the lower the following low. The longer the high, the longer the low. It's part of the emotional balance of our lives. Interestingly, if you recognize when you are on an emotional high and remember there will be a following low it tends to temper the height of the high, and consequently will temper the depths of the low. Recognizing when we're in a low can allow us to more readily recognize the growth we experience during this time, and this too, will temper the effects of the low and can make our walk through the valley much more palitable...

So I walk on, and try to remain open to that which God has for me to learn. Perhaps being more open is a good lesson to start with. Food for thought...