After the Valley, Before the Mountain

In an effort to get help and guidance through my own journey, I have talked to other people who have had to overcome great trials in their life. One of the questions I ask is “What was the toughest part of your journey?”

Sometimes people say that the hardest part of their journey was when it started. That getting the news just hits them like a train and they spend the rest of their time trying to get back up.

Others say that the hardest part is when all the changes begin to happen. When they have to greatly alter the way they live and the changes send a shockwave out to every part of their life.

The way I have always seen it, you begin out on a mountain top and then your situation happens. Then you begin your decent to the valley. While your going down the mountain you begin to learn how to live off the land, maybe build a little shelter each night from the rain, you begin to adapt to your circumstances. There’s some hope up ahead, it seems that the ground evens out. The more you look you begin to make out that it’s a small valley.

Finally, you make it to the valley. Your clothes are tattered, your covered in cuts and scraps and to top it all off it’s almost completely pitch black. You begin to panic as you wander around aimlessly wondering which direction your going. Eventually, the valleys darkness lifts and you find your way out. The path you find looks similar to the one you were on previously, so you continue to follow it. 

The path begins to ascend up a hill. Many like to believe that this is the mountain top, but after you make it over the ridge, you see that it is a desert. 

It goes on for miles and miles. However, it does seem as though there is land on the other side, so you begin to walk. 

I call it a desert because your not at your lowest point in your life but things also are getting much better. The interesting thing about deserts is that they are constantly changing. The winds that blow through desimate mountains of sand into foothills and create mountains out of the latter. It’s ever changing.

This has always been the toughest part for me personally, after the dust has settled some and it’s time to get ready for the long haul to the end. I always get compliments on how well I’m holding up to the news or how quickly I’ve adapted to each new left or right turn. The reason I handle it so well is because my mind is already on the long road that lies up ahead.

When the mundaneness of dialysis and medications begins to weigh on me like a 100 mile trek across the desert, it’s hard to believe that there is an end. It’s hard to continue to take each step when your own mind is constantly doubting and working against you at every turn. Which is why I’m glad that it’s not through my own strength and resilience that allows me to take each step. It is through my Heavenly Father that I am able to continue on my journey back up to the mountain top.