Two things have been going on with me:
1. Fundraising
2. Babies
Now that my sisters have been married a while, I’ve been pressuring them for babies. Consistent, firm, uncompromising pressure.
So of course I think about baby names! Names like Leah… Lia… Leigha… Liya… Lea… Liah.
And I thought about my favorite singing duo, Lily and Madeleine. Those are pretty names. If you stretched it a little, you could say Lily was a biblical name (of the fields…of the valley…yeah!).
But not Madeleine. So then I started thinking what biblical name should go with Lily.
Hmmm…lily of the valley…daisies….hmmm…flowers…valley?
You couldn’t have two little girls and name one Lily and one Valley- that’s a really mean thing to do to Valley. A valley is not really a great place- it’s the very place Christians use to describe being far away from God, or in a bad place spiritually.
And then God brought this to my mind…
On a work trip, my friend/coworker Amber and I went to Smoke Hole Caverns. Let me tell you about our trip there…
So we’re driving, we get lost, we went the wrong way, we get on the right road and go. After about half a minute, I realize something strange. It has come to my attention that we have been going very perfectly straight for longer than a ¼ of a mile. This, in West Virginia, is pretty darn rare.
And not only are we going straight, we’re not going up and down. We’re not going up and down! It’s flat land! This is unheard of here!
Then I realize something else- something that might already be obvious to all of you… We were at the lowest possible point we could be. I looked out in the distance and I could see that we were at the very base of the mountains. And it was amazing. I’ve never had that perspective before- the mountains were enormous, immovable, incredible, and yes, majestic.
I have never, that I can recall- been at the very base of a mountain. In West Virginia, you’re always on a mountain, maybe on top of it. And if you are near the bottom, there are always hills that you’re going up and down and up and down. I‘ll say it again: there are always hills.
And then God brought this to my mind…
I remembered the best view in all my hiking days. Amber and I were on another work trip to Valley Falls State Park. Instead of going to the park, Amber knew the way to the other side of the Falls.
We get on a gravel and dirt road, and Amber is driving her little car up and up and up. There’s dirt, mud, it’s all uneven, she can’t go too fast, we’re surrounded by forest and there’s nowhere to turn around.
After a while, Amber parked the car. We got out, we went to the edge of the path. There are trees and bushes, and I don’t even know what I’m trying to get a picture of. And then I see it. The only opening on top of that mountain is directly in the center of the Valley. I’m looking out at the Falls and the mountains lining either side perfectly framing the river. The sun, the clouds, the wildflowers.
I will never forget that complete perfection of the Valley.
So let me be honest, I’ve been feeling for a while like I’ve been in the Valley. And after God brought all of this back to me, I wanted to stay in the Valley. It’s weird, it’s beautiful, it’s overwhelming. But, as I described, it completely astounds me.
Being on top of the mountain is obviously a great thing. Spiritually, you’re able to see everything you’ve been going through. You’re able to see it’s beauty and perfect purpose.
And although you can clearly see your situation from the mountaintop, there is only one place you can clearly see God- enormous, immovable, incredible, majestic. That’s in the Valley.
