Through the Valley

    About 12 years ago, I visited Death Valley National Park with my father. Death Valley is known for two distinctions: one, it holds the world record for the warmest recorded air temperature at 134 degrees Fahrenheit (though that temperature has been disputed, as well as unverified claims of warmer temperatures). When we went in August 2008, it was "only" 121 degrees Fahrenheit. For as hot & humid as Texas summers get, I can still take solace in the fact that it's cooler than Death Valley. The second distinction Death Valley holds is this: it is home to Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America (282 feet below sea level). 

    Literally speaking, visiting Death Valley was the lowest point in my life. And unless I travel to an even lower point in the world or explore the deep sea, that will be the lowest my life ever gets. While Death Valley may have been the "lowest" point for me, it's certainly not the lowest that I have ever felt, nor was it the only "valley" that I've ever been in. 

    Life is filled with figurative and literal valleys. However, the literal valleys tend to be more enjoyable to go through than the figurative ones. Going to a national park is a vacation. Going through a tough time is anything but one. The worst part about life's figurative valleys is that they are often unexpected and difficult to get out of, let alone navigate. 2020 has taken the whole world into a valley: COVID-19 -- and all of the ways that it has negatively impacted our lives. For many it's been an incredibly difficult valley filled with fear, grief, anxiety, loneliness, isolation, uncertainty, job loss, financial issues, sickness, or the loss of a loved one. 

   There's no way around it: 2020 has felt like a giant valley, one that we're still going through. That said, it's not the first valley that we have been in before (although COVID does make this particular valley unprecedented and challenging). Since coming to Houston three and a half years ago, I can think of different times I've found myself going through a valley. One that Houston went through a few years ago was Hurricane Harvey. Valleys that I've gone through myself have been in the form of grief, heartbreak, burnout, or loneliness. 

    When I've been in valleys, one of the things I've really struggled with is how to handle them. On one hand, I want to express optimism that I will get through it knowing that God is in control. He's led me to and through valleys before, and I know that He will lead me through the one that I'm going through in the moment. On the other hand, I don't want to ignore the emotions and feelings that I have. A trap I'll fall into is telling myself I'm through the valley even if I'm not. I want to be through it or put a time frame on it, but that's not really how valleys work. Pretending that I'm not experiencing grief or feeling burnt out isn't exactly healthy. For instance, it is normal to mourn and experience grief following the death of a family member. If you are feeling burnt out about something, it is better to acknowledge it than to ignore it and keep going. The tricky piece here is not becoming consumed and defined by that grief, pain, heartbreak, etc. Getting consumed by those feelings derails us and keeps us stuck in the valley that we're in. So, what do we do when we're in valleys?

    Well, one thing we can do is acknowledge that we're in a valley and why we're in one. Sometimes the valleys that we find ourselves may be due to a mistake (or series of mistakes) that we made. If this is the case, try not to be too hard on yourself or let your mistakes consume you. Other times we find ourselves in valleys due to factor(s) out of our control. We didn't want to be in the valley, but we're in it anyway. With that, we also can acknowledge the emotions and feelings that we have. Don't bottle those emotions in - let them out and express them. 

    Last week, I started reading through the Book of Psalms. Though only 11 (out of 150) Psalms in, one thing that has stood out to me is how much they vary in emotions. Some Psalms by King David express rejoicing and admiration for God, while others cry out to God in grief or sorrow. There are psalms where David is pleading to God for his life! There's a range of emotions expressed across the Psalms - and even within a psalm itself. You can truly say that there is a psalm for just about every emotion you may be feeling. And that's what I love about the Psalms - the psalmists cry out to God in every season with every feeling. God wants to hear from us and how we are doing. He knows when we're going through valleys filled with grief, anxiety or fear. He'd rather us cry out to Him about our valleys than ignore Him or pretend we aren't going through them. He wants us take refuge in Him just as David wrote in Psalm 7. He wants us to praise Him just as David wrote in Psalm 8. 

    One famous psalm that David wrote was Psalm 23, where David writes "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1). In verse 4, David mentions going through a valley -- "the valley of the shadow of death". Yet, even though he walks through that valley, he fears no evil because he knows that God, his shepherd, is with him and comforts him. David doesn't fear evil or the valley filled with the shadow of death because he knows that God is with him. God is with us in every valley that we go through and leads us through the valleys that we go through. I know that can seem oversimplified or sound "Christian-ese", especially when one is in the midst of a valley. That said, it's really encouraging to know we will never walk alone through life's valleys or that we can read about psalmists that cried out to God about valleys they were in. Psalms 42 & 43 by the Sons of Korah are even called "Lament Psalms" and express grief. 

    A psalm that I have found myself going to for encouragement is Psalm 118. The first and last verses are the same: "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 118:1, 29). In between those verses, the psalm details different trials, but gives thanks to the Lord and recounts all that the Lord has done in the psalmist's life. If we can give thanks to the Lord at the beginning of the day or when we're in the midst of life's valleys and trials, how much sweeter will it be to give thanks to the Lord at the end of the day or when we're through life's valleys and trials. 

    If you find yourself in a valley today (COVID-related or not), I pray that God would give you strength and peace to continue on through and guidance as you navigate through it. Whether it's life's mountains, valleys, or in-betweens, God is always with us and will guide us through what we are going through. Thanks be to God!

The lowest (and warmest) point in North America: Death Valley, CA