valley walking

We got one of those large plasma tv's when we moved to our new house a few years ago.  I discovered the beauty of the high definition picture and really enjoyed watching natural scenes like volcanoes from Hawaii, views of earth from space and travel shows from around the world.  Several of the shows focused on mountain climbing.  I realized that we have a fascination with mountain climbing.  It's a test of our human strength against the challenges and dangers of extremes...extreme cold, extremely thin air, extremely difficult movement up sheer rock.  We do it to show our ability to conquer and the rewards are awesome views of the world below.  But this morning I was thinking about the wonders of "valley walking".  Most of the folks I know spend more time in the valley than on the mountain.  Of course I'm referring primarily to valley experiences of difficulty, problems, consequences and discouragement.  I thought about how the valley is a good place to experience God.  Of course David reminded us in the 23rd Psalm that the Lord is with us even when we walk through these valleys.  We do tend to reach up for the Lord when there is no where else we can go on the downside.  It is in the valley that we find the river and it is in the valley that the soil is richest.  Valley walks are where we realize that we need help and we tend to be open to accepting it.  It occurred to me that while the view from a mountain top is downward, the view from the valley leads up!  (I remember one tv show that described mountain climbers who became stranded by an avalanche and experienced the valley on top of the mountain!)   Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes        in the valley of decision!        For the day of the LORD is near        in the valley of decision.   blessings, Rob Smith