In the Valley

As I continue on this journey God has placed us on, I wanted to share a recent devotional I read from some books a friend gave me. This book is called Contentment by Lydia Brownback.

Some have viewed how I've been these last several months as something I am choosing to be. I've heard comments such as if I'd get out of the house more I wouldn't be depressed, that I should be happier now that I am having another baby, that I bring others around me down with how I am, etc. These sort of comments have been hurtful and obviously come from those who have no idea what they are saying.

The first devotional in this book was so incredibly eye opening and such an encouragement, I wanted to share. Especially since sometimes people think I chose to be where I am currently, this reading stated quite the opposite. That God has put me in this valley right now and until He brings me out of it, I am here for however long He leaves me here. This is NOT a place I have chosen to be nor is it something you can just "snap out of" or "get over".

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven....a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;....a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose;....a time to love, and a time to hate;  time for war, and a time for peace" Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

.........."The fight is quite natural, of course. We all prefer the mountaintops to the valleys. But the God who has ordered life to flow in and out of such seasons is the same God who has provided for our contentment in every season. Contentment is possible not only on the mountaintops but in the valleys as well. How can we mourn or lose or weep with contentment? That seems totally contradictory. And indeed we cannot if our contentment hinges on getting out of the valley, because we have no control over the beginning or ending of the seasons that God appoints for each of us.

Contentment in the valleys comes when we stop fighting so hard to climb out. God is the one who leads us into the valleys, and He will lead us back out in His time. God ordains valleys for our good; why else would a good and kind God allow them? Trusting God in our hard times is the way to contentment-not just trusting him to get us out, but trusting his goodness while we are still in them. If we will not trust him in the bad times, we are not going to trust him the good times either........"

It's an interesting thought isn't it, if we can't trust God & be content in these valley experiances, are we really trusting him in the mountaintop experiances when all is well?

So that just sort've explains where we are at. Our "down days" we still experiance is just where God has us at. We are learning to just go with it and let them happen, if that means the tears flow or not much gets done in a days time, so be it. We are learning to try to embrace this new normal and trying to pay attention to what God is teaching us while we are in this dark valley. I admit it's not easy at times that's for sure. And we know that we can't get out of this place until he allows us to. We are thankful for those days where the clouds part and we get a glimpse of better days from down here. It gives us hope. As do the many of you who are still walking along side of us & continuing to encourage us.....thank you!

~Life is like the ebb and flow of the tides...there are highs and there are lows. What you have to remember is that during low tide, you find the best sea shells.