Gentle Reader,
A Contemplation in the Valley
“Just a closer walk with Thee,”
Is how the lyric goes
Yet I often wonder, Lord,
Why more ebbs than flows?
Mountain peaks and sun so bright
Last but a moment – then
Here comes another valley,
Racing ’round the bend
I do not understand
Why I must battle long
When others raise a toast, a harp,
And sing the joyous song
Could you not, Lord, teach me
In a field of ease?
Could I not be molded
Without this tug and tease?
Must my hair be knotted?
Must my face be stained?
Must I trudge through swamps
Made the worse with rain?
Must my hands be bloody?
Must my skin be bruised?
Must my clothes be tattered?
My aching joints abused?
The storm, it swirls around me,
The Enemy laughs with glee,
This war that I am waging –
I think You alone do see
And so if that be true, Lord,
Mind this beating that I take,
For if this is Your plan,
On this my life I stake:
I know not why the valley
Is my home down here
But I trust that You, O God,
Ever-hold me near
I trust that I don’t travel
This broken path alone
I trust that You are with me
No matter winds that moan
I trust that in this moment
With fight so fierce and pitched
You give me strength for every step
And all my wounds do stitch
I trust that somehow, God,
Made of one and three,
That this – You have ordained
For a closer walk with Thee
