Stalked by a Turtle

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” Psalm 23:4

This morning in my Bible study, the author asked that I look up the words above to get a clear understanding of the meaning of each word and how they communicate together. I was then instructed to write my personal version of this sentence with my own words. I wrote, ‘In spite of moving at a slow pace in this low area between high times that feel like an ending to something, I will not give in to the belief that something bad and painful will overtake me.’ Rereading it I became amused because what came to mind was Hurricane Florence that felt like forever in anticipating it. By no means am I downplaying what any person went through, but rather using it as a devotional example of our storms. We watched it develop out in the waters, we witnessed its power intensifying, we anticipated complete destruction and eventually experienced a weaker reality than what we feared. As it boasted that it would be a category 4-5 when it hit, in actuality it was a 1-2. It still did a lot of damage, but we didn’t experience the regional level of devastation it could have been. As a matter of fact, Bruce told me about a weather reporter compared the unfolding of Florence to being stalked by a turtle!

I began thinking about the season when Bruce’s father came to live with us during his last year of Alzheimer’s. It was only 11 months, but it seemed like forever in that valley with no idea of how long we would experience it. Day after day…prayer after prayer...low areas between high times…Stalked by a turtle. I’ll bet you have been in long valleys that seemed to last forever and maybe still are in a low area of a valley. Valleys certainly foster fear and and painful circumstances. Valleys always seem to threaten a Category 5 as you watch its impending landfall. But thankfully, all valleys have an entrance and an exit. Valleys were never meant to be the destination, but the passage to a new mountain. ‘When those low places come, the isolation feels so confining, heavy, and dark. So, if your valley is hard, ask God to give you grace to see your valleys through the lens of ‘temporary…momentary …a blip on the radar. It will help you know that even what is most painful is not permanent in light of eternity. Your valley has purpose and your valley is filled with God’s presence.’ Psalm 23 – The Shepherd with Me, Jennifer Rothschild, p. 116 and 117. I am blessed to know that even in our darkest shadows…our greatest threats of imminent destruction…the valleys are still temporary and God is permanent and eternal.

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are no seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Co 4:17-18