The Grass Isn't Always Greener...

... on the other side of the valley. Some people may read the previous entry and think that I'm depressed or wallowing in self pity or being overly dramatic. That's okay. I'm here to tell you that I'm not. (Well, I have been known to indulge in drama every now and again, but I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm doing so now.)

What people sometimes fail to understand is that the grass isn't always greener during life's peaks. Sometimes, a valley is right on time. There are certain things I'm pretty sure you don't accomplish as completely during the peaks in your life. How challenging is it to summon a smile when you're at your best? How aware are you of the smallest blessings when everything is going well? How likely are you to appreciate the sunlight when you've never experienced the dark night? (Okay, so that was dramatic. But it worked. Quite well.)

I believe, as I wrote last time, that the valley is the place we end up when God really wants to talk to us, to work on and in our hearts at a time we're likely to be the most receptive. I firmly believe that He wants us to seek Him there, to realize He is everything we need, what we need to fill us. I don't know about anybody else, but when I feel like I'm getting everything I need from my husband or elsewhere in my life, I tend to let my relationship with God take a back seat. It's not that I don't need Him during those times, or that I forget about Him - I just start to believe the lie that another person (or things) can complete me, fulfill me, be my satisfaction. I forget that He blessed me with those people and things and that they are in my life for a season (however long that season is) while He is eternal, He loves me more than even my parents ever could, and He is what I truly need. Without Him, I would not be here and it is only without His love that I am worthless. Since His love is perfect, unfailing, unconditional and, yes, eternal, I am absolutely, unfailingly, unconditionally and (YES!) ETERNALLY precious. Period.

So, if the valley takes me to the place where I am reminded of how precious I am to my Creator, that He loves me more than any human being ever could and that in Him I have all that I will ever need, there are worse places I could be.