For most Christians, the term mountains and valleys is one we have heard many times in a church sermon. Many preachers use these as metaphors for times in our lives. Mountains are used as an example of a time where we are "high" in life. We are the king of the hill, nothing can touch us, life is just perfect. Then there are valleys, which of course are the "low" points. Who doesn't like a visual to go along with their sermon, huh?
I honestly love these sermons, not because I always need to hear them, though I will admit that sometimes I am in need of these reminders, but because I feel like they are such an important thing for people to understand about God. So many people like to blame God for the bad things but forget to praise Him for the good things. Some people think that they did something to "deserve" being put in a valley, that they did something wrong. The biggest one though, is that people forget, God is always trying to find you a way out of the valley.
I have had many non-believer friends ask me "if God is almighty, why is it taking him so long to help you out of this mess?". That answer is surprisingly simple, I'm not ready to be let out of this mess yet. Non-believers don't understand that for a very devout Christian, we are always willing to accept that God has a plan. Yes, the illusive "plan" that we Christians are so obsessed with. Some of my friends tell me that it would bother them beyond belief to have someone or something else in control of their lives and their plans. It's actually rather freeing to tell you the truth. To know that my Creator is looking out for me, making sure that I get to my destination, it's incredible.
I will be the first one to admit, God doesn't "put" me in a valley, I'm pretty good at putting myself there without His help. When I look back on a "valley" moment, or even when I am currently in one. I can tell you exactly how I put myself there, I'm just not always certain of how I'm going to get myself out. Valleys are rough, and unforgiving. They create doubt and hardship, but you cannot place the blame on anyone but yourself. I do believe sometimes God lets you sit there a while, until His perfect plan and the perfect moment arises to lift you from that valley to the highest mountain. The nicest moments are when you know you're going to have to sit in a valley for a little while, but you can see the light coming over that mountain top. When you know if you stick to the plan, don't make any "in the moment" decisions, you work hard and follow the steps, that you will get to the mountain.
Wade and I are in a tiny valley season right now. We just discovered that it may be a while before we will be able to buy a house. We looked into a couple of different options, but really, nothing was going to work out at the moment. We were a little discouraged, and then Wade looked at me and said, "maybe God doesn't want us in a house right now. Maybe in a year or two there will be this perfect house just in our price range, and He wants us to wait until He can get us there". Woah. Major bonus points for the future husband right there. But it's true. After doing some in-depth searching, there really aren't any houses that fit our needs in our price range right now. Maybe we do need to sit in this valley a little while, and dream of that house on the hill above us, until God says, "okay, I found it".
Valleys are not the end of the world, they are the beginning of a new season coming soon. They are the promise of the mountain top waiting for you. They are beyond frustrating, but so worth the struggle when you get to the top of that climb. Wade was a mountain top for me. After years of struggling with relationships, trying to "find the perfect one", trying to make a relationship work that just wasn't going to (after 7 years I might add), I knew I needed to change my criteria. I knew that I needed to change the way I felt about a relationship. I knew He needed to love God, I knew he needed to see me as precious, and I knew he needed to want the same things I did, even if they weren't in exactly the same way. And then I found Wade. He was so different from any man I had ever dated, and treated me like I had never been treated before, and loved me like I always dreamed I could be loved. My long journey in the valley, seemed to rather quickly lead me to my future husband. The one who flips through the tv guide and stops on Joel Osteen to watch. The one who reminds me I am loved. 
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