Down in the Valley

 "Yea, though I walk through the valley" (Psalms 23:4) are comforting words. But remember to have a valley, there must be more than one mountain, or hill. Maybe you came off one mountain, to reach this valley, or maybe you're passing through the valley to avoid having to climb over the mountain. But the good news is always, there's another hill to climb, another mountain to conquer past the valley. We all love those 'mountain top' experiences, where the view before you is awesome, and you get that 'I'm on top of the world feeling.' Those times are great, but life and growth happen in the valley. Though the valley is full of shadows and can be very dark. It's there you gain the strength to climb the next hill or mountain. It's in the valley, you can eat, and drink, and grow stronger. And even though the valley is dark, and full of shadows, in order for there to be shadows and darkness that means there has to be some light somewhere. Shadows only happen when there's a light source, no matter how weak it is. 

   In the King James and New King James versions the verse starts with a 'Yea.' What a switch in our thinking to think, Yippee, yeah! I'm going through a Valley! Okay, I know that's not how that word is used in that verse, but maybe it should be a yippee, yahoo kind of Yeah! Its I'm gonna go through! Where the road isn't so rocky, and no steep paths to climb. It maybe a little dark, and the road and view not very exciting, but I'm going though, and there's another high point when I'm done! I'm either gonna climb another mountain, and see the beauty, or go through that pass, and get to where I'm going. So it's time to "Yeah!" your valley and keep walking through! 

   You don't need to run either, just walk, you'll make it through. The only thing that's gonna run is your cup running over. But don't forget, that cup is probably on the table in the presence of your enemies. But you'll have an abundance as your cup runs over! 

    Remember Jesus is the good shepherd, leading you through to green pastures, and beside still peaceful waters. He's with you every step of the way. So if your valley feels dark, keep walking. There's a table set before you and another mountain top to see. Keep walking.

Cat Scan

Grace looking a little bit grumpy, but trying to blend in with all my black and white.

 I've had a few CatScans in my life, but to tell the truth, they all happened when I was unconscious while at the Mayo.  I do remember briefly waking up, and asking what was going on, and some nurse told me they were taking me to have a CatScan before they started surgery.  I remember asking what that was, and then everything went out again for me, and I didn't wake up for another three days.  Not because of the CatScan, though.  I know I had multiple scans while I was there because I was charged for them, but I don't remember any of them.

  But there are a few CatScans I do remember. They were administered by my cat Grace. Several times in the last year, while laying in bed, she has jumped up on my bed and then gone to a specific place on my body and started her little 'massage.' You know how cats do that. What's been interesting is that every time she has done this, within a few minutes or hours, that area of my body has had challenging issues. Twice this has happened, I discovered later that I had a severe UTI. She also did this the morning, I ended up in an ambulance ride and spent several hours in the ER when my heart rate dropped below 40, and my Oxygen levels tanked. 

She's done it to my shoulder when a prior injury reoccurred, and later that day, the pain was almost unbearable. 

Last night, she did it again. At 4 AM, she started at my feet, walked up my body till she hit my stomach, and started her little paw massage. Sure enough, as I began to wake up, I realized my stomach was upset, and the acid was coming up my throat. Once I got up to handle the situation, she left my room for another spot to sleep.

How does this animal know when something is wrong? She truly is my 'CatScan.' God put something in animals that knows. I don't know how they know, but I'm thankful for my little alarm kitty that tries to warn me that something is wrong.

Broken Crayons Still Color

 

   I know this makes me sound like a little kid, but I still get a thrill out of a new box of crayons.  And it’s even cooler if you get a box with a built-in sharpener on the back.  Sixty-four perfectly formed little sticks of potential color explosions.  There’s so much so much available creativity waiting in that perfect little box.  Whether you’re six years old and learning to color within the lines, or you’re sixteen and doing a detailed pointillism picture, or sixty and carefully coloring a picture to pass the lonely hours, crayons are just fun.

   But then one breaks, and spoils the perfect symmetry of the box. And then there’s that color that you use more than all the rest, and it’s suddenly shorter, and you can barely see it anymore sticking out of the box.  Before long, you usually end up with a pile of broken crayons, bits and pieces showing wear and tear and sometimes abuse from overuse.  They no longer fit in the box with the sharpener on the back, so you get a small pencil box and throw the broken pieces in it.  They’re not pretty anymore and have lost the thrill of that new crayon appeal, sometimes the wrapper is missing, and it’s nothing but a bear-naked crayon.  But if the truth be told, every one of those small broken pieces still color just as beautifully as when they were whole.  Being broken doesn’t mean they lost their ability to produce color.  Even the tiniest piece still produces the vibrant color it did when it was whole, but it just doesn’t last as long.  

    We’re no different than those broken crayons.  We start out in life perfectly formed little sticks of potential creativity and color.  As life goes on, some parts get broken and some are overused or abused, sometimes we lose the wrapper that tells our specific color name. Soon this once-perfect box of crayons is thrown in an old pencil box and seems discarded and useless.  People tend to want perfectly formed crayons and find digging through a box of broken pieces nothing more than unnecessary work.  Why go for the broken when you can have the new?  But those broken pieces know that story of beauty and pain.  The beauty of creating a beautiful picture of life, while suffering the pain of being broken.  

  It takes the artist to still see potential in the broken pieces.  The artist knows that those small remaining pieces can still make a masterpiece when placed in the right hands.  So give your brokenness to God and watch him turn those broken parts into a beautiful masterpiece.  He can use every part of your life, even the broken parts, to make this masterpiece shine to its full potential.

    “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”  Eph 2:10 NLT

A crayon pointillism picture I did in High School.

But Then… (How to Encourage Yourself)

   This may sound a little strange, and maybe even self-absorbed, but one way I’ve found to encourage myself when I get discouraged is to read things I’ve written, or listen to recording of myself preaching.  Now don’t get me wrong, I listen and read books by lots of other preachers and have learned lots from them, but when I’m discouraged, I find encouragement in my own writing and preaching.  Why?  Because, I go back to those things that God has already dealt with me on, and things that were a revelation to me.  Those God influences in my life, that’s the grace of God.  

    King David did the same thing.    When his followers were upset with him, he did the same thing. “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” I Sam. 30: 6 KJV.  This verse doesn’t say how he encouraged himself in the LORD,  but I wonder if he didn’t go back to one of the songs he had written, and read or sing the words to himself, reminding himself that God was faithful.

    I’m a big promoter of journaling, and this is one of the benefits of journaling.  You can go back and see where God has been faithful in your life.   

Sometimes when you’re discouraged, you have to get all the way to the “But then…”. What do I mean by that? In Psalms 77, the psalmist was really discouraged, he felt God had rejected and forgotten him. He couldn’t even sleep at night because he was so distressed (verse 4). He felt God’s hand was totally against him (feelings can be so deceiving) then he gets to verse 11 and says, “But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember you wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works…”. He goes on declaring all the marvelous workings of God in the past, and that encouraged him and strengthened him in the present. 

       So when you’re discouraged, distressed, disappointed, or any other ‘dis’ in life, get all the way to the “But then…” and start going over all the good things God has done in the past for you, and the wonderful things in His Word He declares for you. Encourage yourself in the Lord. Get to the “But then…” and change your thinking to His goodness and love for you.