Beautiful Valleys!

I have to admit that I have been thinking a lot lately about my beloved wife who had the joy of going to her heavenly home in September of 2018.  Now, it’s not like I don’t usually think about her, because I do, but just when it seemed like everything was moving forward for me… well… then came the holidays!

I was thinking that this year was going to be so much better than it had been for a long time… and in many respects it was!  Thanksgiving was fun.  It is the first time that I cooked for the family since Piper left us, and it was the first whole turkey that I baked since… well, probably before we went to Bible School in 2006.  Thanksgiving was always special for Piper and I and the kids.  We enjoyed entertaining and usually had Piper’s extended family over on Turkey Day!  This may sound weird, but one of the fondest memories that I have of those times was of all the effort that the whole family put in to straighten out and clean the house the day before the big event!

You see, being as we were a deeply committed homeschooling family, our house was not always a picture-perfect replica of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine picture spread!  It is kind of a given when your home is multipurposed for family life, school, ministry and as a business office.  We knew that going into our homeschooling adventure and simply made it work.

So, that said… the day before Thanksgiving was normally a beehive of activity as everyone picked up after themselves.  The kids collected their school books, assignment paperwork and all the other school paraphernalia left around the house and organized and filed it in the homeschool room where they each had a desk and a file cabinet along with the multiple bookshelves around the room.  And it was usually all accomplished with laughter and camaraderie.

Then come the next day and our family worked together in the kitchen to prepare a sumptuous meal!  One of the many things that I enjoyed when company came over was the way that Piper sort of skipped around the house, playing the part of the perfect hostess, making people smile and being sure that all needs were met and that everyone felt special, wanted and loved.  Now, I have to admit, I see that same trait in our older daughter Jamie!  It is heartwarming for me to see Piper’s legacy continuing through our children’s lives.

My Christmas focus was thrown off when my doctor scheduled me for a colonoscopy a week before the special day.  I knew that I had nothing to worry about (which I didn’t as everything came out fine) but it still caused me to deal with some anxiety.  I had never had one before and had never been put out under anesthesia before either. 

I was prepared though and when the day finally arrived, I found it to be a sweet sorrow when they were wheeling me into the procedure room.  For I flashed back and found myself reminiscing over all the times that I had stood by Piper’s side and held her hand, in the countless doctor’s offices, specialist’s exam rooms, and the multitude of emergency rooms we visited between 2006 and 2018.  I tried my best to not focus on the fact that I was going through my first medical procedure without her sweet little hand holding mine!

So anyway… While it seemed like the holiday’s went off pretty well for me and my kids, the memories of Piper still seemed to pop up everywhere we looked, in almost every conversation we had and with every Christmas ornament I hung on the tree.  Then when I thought it was over for the year, I scheduled the dog for a teeth cleaning and had to live through the day in an empty house alone… with just me and my thoughts… about you-know-who!

But don’t despair as there is a silver lining behind all of this!  When I was walking Fiver in the cold 2-degree morning air at the beginning of this week, I found myself thinking about and reciting parts of the 23^rd Psalm.  Since Piper’s homegoing that particular Psalm has become a real stalwart for me.  I usually speak it out first thing in the morning, in the mid-afternoon and just before I turn the light out for the night… and multiple times throughout the day.

I’ve memorized it in a variety of translations and many times will cut and past the different renderings to best fit whatever need I have at the moment.  On Monday as I gazed out along the empty golf course (not sure why the golfers didn’t want to be playing with frost on their noses and the 21 mph winds…) I absent mindedly kept repeating verse four where David declared,

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (KJV)

When Fiver grabbed a scent and pulled me over to a nearby fence post, I remembered a fence post where we would stop almost every time we headed over and up to the Plumas National Forest and our favorite state park near the California/Neveda border.

When driving on Highway 49 through the little town of Sattley, California (pop 49) in Sierra County, you come to a stop at the crossroads where you can turn left to take highway 89 northwest to Graeagle where we were headed, or right to continue on Highway 49 to the booming metropolis of Sierraville. 

I have always been thankful that there wasn’t much traffic to speak of when we would come to that intersection. For the sight that unfolds before your eyes after traveling up and down the mountains is absolutely spell bounding and it takes a few moments to gather yourself in order to take the turn and drive on!  And believe-you-me… we would never drive on, but make the turn and pull off the 2-lane highway along the barb wire fence that separates the road from the pristine land. 

For Piper and me, it was a sight that simply took our breath away!  Looking out to the east was the absolutely gorgeous Sierra Valley.  Settled snuggly between the Sierra Nevada mountains, the view is extraordinary.  The combination of the green grasses, marshes, wetlands, birds, cattle and/or horses and an occasional old barn is almost indescribable!

Fiver’s jerk on the leash reminded me that we were on a walk and that he was ready to move on.  But as we walked, I suddenly had the thought that all valleys are not dark and sad places to be.  I began to realize that while the valley that I’ve been walking through has been a hard place for me as I miss Piper so much, it was a wonderful and beautiful place of transition for her.  The word “death” in the Greek is described as “The separation of the soul and the body by which life on earth is ended.” (Thayer’s)  And I couldn’t help but think and add to that statement “and for the Christian, it is where their eternal life in heaven begins!”

I remember when she passed at about 5:30 in the morning on that Sunday and of how I looked into her eyes and clearly noticed that the gleam of life that always sparkled from them was gone, and I couldn’t help but to exclaim with tears of joy saying, “Oh Baby, you’ve gone home!”

The memory of that moment of joy for me, as I thought about where she’d gone, connected me to that beautiful valley that we experienced so many times together over the years.  In an instant I had a whole new outlook on the valley that the Lord has been leading me through over the past three plus years.  The Passion Translation renders the beginning of Psalm 23:4 saying,

“Lord, even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have…”

That translation makes me picture the Lord holding my hand as He continues to lead me through His beautiful valley on the way to the specific and perfect plans and purposes that He still has for me to pursue with passion and joy!

So, I have a new outlook on the valley that I’m almost through, as the Lord is preparing me for beautiful outlooks ahead.  As my wife is blessed in her new place of life, I am assured that my blessings are not just in the distance ahead but also here and now in the beautiful valley that is amazingly gorgeous everywhere I look!

How about you?  Have a great weekend.  Look for His beauty in the valley around you and rejoice and be glad that He is taking good care of you!