The Towpath Diaries: The Valley

The Towpath Trail winds along the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The valley is a gently rolling ride with few hills. We live in Brecksville so it is always nice to get to the trail - it is a fairly steep ride down.  The problem is pretty much no matter where you live, you have to go back up from the valley (unless you live in Peninsula - more on that next week) to go back home. When we lived in Aurora, there weren't too many steep hills where we lived. When we moved to Brecksville, it became a much tougher adjustment to conquer hills. Even today, I had a heck of a time getting back up the hills to get home. Nice going out, tougher coming back. Muscles ache, trouble catching breath. 

I remember cycling with the more devoted cyclists from Christ Community Chapel. They had a day where they would cycle in and out of the valley seven times to train. Not for me - I prefer flat. Nevertheless to get to the nice ride down Riverview Rd. or the Towpath, it requires a climb back.

Valleys are like that - we wonder how we got there. And yet there we are anyway. Valleys are especially tough because the way back out almost seems insurmountable. Sometimes sin puts me in the valley. Sometimes it seems like a vicious attack from the evil one who loves to attack us at our weakest most vulnerable moment. Inevitably, a valley precedes a moment of summit. God is training us to rely on Him to carry us out of the valley. One of my favorite Psalm is the 23rd Psalm. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.". 

One of the things someone taught me to get out of the valley is to set small goals. Get to the next plateau, go 20-50 yards, but keep moving. Today, I was climbing out of the valley and the last few hills did me in because the obstacle looked too menacing. I did not apply that principle. Recently, I felt completely in the valley and I was having pity party after pity party. Then I blamed God - how could you do this to me? I have found that this principle of focusing on the next thing is really more  a matter of living life day by day. Don't get overwhelmed. Jesus said, "Do not be anxious".  Paul said "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

I have found that God does not resent requests for "fleece" moments. This follows the pattern of Gideon in the book of Judges. God shows Gideon His presence through little answers to prayer. For me, it might be showing me the power of trials, it might be showing me that what I expected is not what God expected, or that relationships matter more than circumstances.

Inevitably, valleys are a means to strengthen us and toughen us up. More importantly, it is a means to fully trust God who always wants what is best for us. Do we trust him?