life's ups and downs

my life is full of ups and downs. i'm not really unique in this though. everyone has their ups and downs. their mountains and valleys. everyone has the days where they are on top of the world and the days (or what can feel like months or years) of being on the rock bottom in the valley. 

i have had my fair share of these times in my life and even have had many in the last week. this is life and these are the places we find ourselves. there is no getting around these times. there are no magic words or things we can say or do to keep us from having these moments in life. 

i spent the majority of my life in what i felt like was a valley. a very dark, shaded, scary valley. i was so deep in the valley that when i thought i was looking up i couldn't even see what was above me because i had gotten so far down. it was terrifying and sucked the life out of me. i am thankful to have a new perspective on the valleys i find myself in though. 

as i was on vacation last week and was driving through a small place called "wears valley" and i was enjoying the beauty of the mountains that surrounded me. this is a place i have driven through many many times in life and had never seen it like i did that day. i realized this time as we drove though that not all valleys are dark and scary. most of the time they are only scary because make them that way. yes, there are hard times and tears shed in these places but the truth is that if we look up and around at our surroundings we see the beauty of the mountains. we see the color of the leaves ... the perfect shape of the peeks ... the absolute stunning beauty of the mountains that the Lord has waiting for us. the valley may be long and hard but beauty is all around just waiting to be reached and it WILL be reached. 

i never dreamed i could learn to love the valleys as much as i have. i never dreamed that i could look at a picture like the one above and see the significance of the beauty of a valley. the valley makes me dream for the mountains and the moutains make me appreciate the valley. we have to have ups and downs. we have to be stretched and grown. the Lord has called us to be more than we are and these are the places we find ourselves. 

i found myself seeking the beauty of the valley that day and i hope i never stop until i reach the very top of the highest mountain and when i am there i will give praise ... i will look down and see where i have come from and realize that each up and down was for a reason and i will also know there will continue to be these times in my life. and i will keep pressing on because that is what the Lord has called me to do. 

one of my favorite songs in life is called "if you want me to" by ginny owens. 

my favorite lines go like this:

the pathway is broken 

and the signs are unclear
and I don't know the reason why You brought me here
but just because You love me the way that You do
i'm gonna walk through the valley
if  You want me to