To survive the valley,
you have to be real comfortable in your own skin.
You’ll find many companions on the path to the mountaintop,
but very few will journey with you to the valley.
Those who do are unlikely to stay.
Your thoughts.
Your physical weakness.
Your limits.
Your sins.
Unmasked.
You become keenly aware of your scars, blemishes, incapabilities,
and if you’re not comfortable coming face to face with yourself,
you may not survive.
Self-hatred, self-loathing, self-condemnation
The valley is quiet; your thoughts, loud
The voice of the accuser in your own head, so close you can taste its poison.
In the mountaintops, your weaknesses don’t bother you
because you’re overwhelmed by the beauty surrounding you,
the view from the top – breathtaking
this moment – significant
you – small
In the cities, your weakness don’t bother you because they are drown out by the noise
Or sometimes even the suffering of others
Opportunities – everywhere
This moment – insignificant
You – the center
But in the valley?
Your weaknesses are on full display, weighing you down
Stuck in the marsh by your limits
Lost in the forest – your thoughts – going in circles
No noise, no distraction, no beauty
Just you and your ashes
To survive the valley
Is to have the fortitude to love yourself
Exposed, bare, raw, dirty
The Garden of Eden deep in the valley
The place to face your Maker as you are
Without even a fig leaf
To admit you took a bit of the poisoned apple
And to discover that the serpent’s lies
Are more about you
Than they are about Him.
