Valley to Mountaintop

Have you ever heard someone say they’re “living in the valley?”… Or maybe you’ve heard someone say they “had a mountaintop experience,” before.

 

If you haven’t, what this is referring to is basically the highs and lows in life. 

 

The mountaintop is the best moments. Whether that means you’re feeling your strongest, happiest, most confident, joyful, etc. It can also be what people call a “spiritual high”. The valley is usually seasons of difficulty, hardship, sorrow, unknown. This is where the harder times in life happen. But the valley is also where learning new things, gaining strength, perseverance, growth, decisions, etc. takes place.

 

The Lord has been teaching me all about the journey from the valley to the mountaintop for a couple of months now. It’s funny because I’ve been debating what to write my last blog post about ever since I got back. I wanted to end this chapter of life, as a racer, with a blog that was really special. I still don’t know what I was thinking would fit that category of “really special” hahaha BUT I did finally decide what I wanted to write about. I thought what better way to close this chapter than by sharing one of the things I’m currently processing and what I’ve learned from it so far! 

 

The journey of life. From valley to mountaintop.

 

The valley.

I’m going to start by talking about the valley. The valley can look different to everyone. Sometimes the valley is muddy and hard to walk through. Sometimes there’s no path and you feel lost with no direction, like you’re just wandering around trying to figure things out. Sometimes the valley is a season where you have to make a bunch of decisions. The valley can be rocky or stormy. Sometimes the valley can also be kind of boring. I think back to walking through Virginia on the AT. I was BORED. Each day the trail looked the same. A green tunnel with very little views. I lost motivation for sure. But I also didn’t give up. I knew that if I quit on a bad or boring day, then I would miss out on the good things that were to come! It’s easy for me to get distracted in the valley. One thing that I sometimes forget while walking through the valley is that the Lord is there with me. Each step of the way, He never leaves our side. The hard times really can be hard and sometimes the Lord is quiet because He wants us to make decisions for ourselves. He wants us to seek Him for strength and trust Him that He’s equipping us to get through the valley. This is something He has recently reminded me of. A truth I want to always carry with me in the future. 

 

Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

 

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

 

Philippians 4:6-7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

The uphill climb.

Something about this journey that the Lord has been teaching me recently, is the uphill climb. I was actually out on a run about a month ago when the Lord spoke to me so clearly about the uphill climb. I was running up this short, small hill and I could feel my body shift. The resistance shifted and I automatically had to run harder to get up the incline. My first though was “wow, I’m out of shape.” My second thought was “how’d I climb mountain after mountain on the AT when I literally am struggling so much right now running up this tiny hill?!” Then the Lord spoke to me. I was able to climb mountain after mountain because it was in the flat, “boring” sections in-between where I was able to rest. It was also here where I gained my momentum, strength, and perseverance that would then carry me up the mountain, once I got to it. Just like in life, the moments of walking through the valley can be difficult because you have to figure it out sometimes as you go… Learning what works for you and what doesn’t. Figuring out how to rest and seek the Lord, even in the times where it seems like you have no sense of direction. Or when you have to find your way around obstacles along the way, like walking through a muddy section or gearing up for an unexpected storm. The cool part about the uphill climb (the hardest part of getting yourself to the mountaintop) is that we know and are aware that it’s coming. It’s cool that the Lord gives us the knowledge that we will have high moments in life and then they’ll be followed by harder seasons. We know that in order to get to the mountaintop you first have to climb. That the climbing might feel hard and strenuous but also the Lord will equipped us, through our perseverance in the valley, to push through the climb and get to the top.

 

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

 

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

The mountaintop.

Imagine you just climbed an actually mountain. You’ve finally made it to the top and you get to sit and rest after a hard climb, that you were in fact capable of. You are full of joy and happiness and you feel so strong knowing all that you just accomplished. You get to stand on top of this mountain and look at the BEAUTIFUL views all around you. You can even look down and see where you just came from. The mountain you once stood on previously, now in the distance and the valley and uphill climb in-between. You can also look ahead and see the next mountaintop you’re about to go on a journey to get to. You can look ahead and see the valley and uphill climb you’re going to walk through and climb up. It’s full of many different possibilities, learning experiences, obstacles and storms that will only make you stronger. The Lord has been showing me how these mountaintop moments are for the bigger picture. The Lord uses these moments as a time of reflection and inspiration. A reflection on what you’ve learned and been challenged by in the past and how you grew because of those things. Inspiration from the looking ahead and into a new season of growth, challenges, experiences and changes. Another thing about the mountaintop the Lord has taught me, is the duration of being up there. The time spent on the mountaintop is usually shorter periods of time. Sometimes moments. If you think of an actual mountaintop, it’s usually exposed and unsustainable. I’m not one to say things are impossible, but it is close to impossible to live your life on top of a mountain. The ground is rocky/uneven, there’s no shelter or covering, no food or water sources and if a storm comes you might actually be in a life or death situation. As humans, we aren’t made to be able to live our lives on top of mountains. We need shelter and food and water which we get below the tree line. Just like in life, our high moments might be short while most of our life’s journey will be spent in the valley, however, we always know there’s more highs to come in the future. We will always get another “big picture” moment where the Lord has us reflecting on His goodness and how He was working, even in the times we didn’t always see it. We’ll get another “big picture” moment where we are looking ahead into the unknown future, but are inspired by all of the newness and opportunities to get to chose into growth. We have the knowledge that there’s more highs and lows coming up in life. If most of our life is spent navigating through the valley, then shouldn’t we be choosing to look at the valley with a better perspective? Instead of choose to believe the valley is “too hard” and looking at it with a negative perspective, we should be choosing to look at with hope. Looking ahead at all of the new possibilities and with positivity. If we spend most of our life in the valley, seeing it as a negative season and feeling sorry for ourselves will only hinder our chance for change and growth.

 

Isaiah 40:31 “but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

 

Knowing the things I know now about the valley, the climb and the mountaintop I get so excited. I love the fact that the Lord is so kind and gracious with us. That He gives us a glimpse of what’s ahead. The knowledge of the ups and downs of life. That He WILL equipped us with strength and recourses for us to use in all seasons of life and to overcome any obstacle. That there’s no valley, climb or mountaintop in life that will look the same…. just like in nature. Sometimes the valleys might be a longer stretch than the one before or one to come and that’s okay. We can’t duplicate seasons in life, no matter how much we might want to. That’s become one truth that is so beautiful to me. As sad as I was for the WR to end and how bad I’ve wished I could go back to a given moment in time, I’m so glad we can’t. Instead we get to take those sweet moments, memories and the things we learned with us in life, wherever we go! This is why it’s important to learn from our highs and lows in life and why we should always use the mountaintops to reflect and seek inspiration.  

 

I’m going to end this blog with one more Bible verse. One that I try to hold true in every situation. Of course it’s easier said than done and sometimes in the valley this is harder for me to remember because of the challenges I face. James 1:2-4 says “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trails of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” To me this verse is a great reminder to find joy in everything through my faith in the Lord. Even in hard time, challenges or times I’m having to choose to persevere, there is always joy to be found. Choosing to seek the goodness the Lord gives us abundantly, is a choice. It’s a choice you have to choose for yourself. There is always joy in the trails. The Lord is always there with you and He will never leave you. For me, that truth alone is where I find joy. How cool is it that the Lord, the creator of the universe NEVER leaves us?! WOW! Also, the more we choose joy and test our faith in the hard times, the stronger we get. And with that strength the more steadfast we become! The Lord equips us and will never fail us, all we have to do is have faith in Him and trust Him.

 

Alright… God is FUNNY. I thought I was finished with this blog…. well I was finished with this blog and about to post it when it DAWNED ON ME….. or the Lord just reminded me hahahah! The last place I lived on the World Race was Lesotho. Lesotho is a small country within the country of South Africa. While in Lesotho, we literally lived in an actual valley! LOL! I don’t think this is a coincidence at all! The Lord is funny and I think it’s funnier that I’m just now realizing this while typing this blog. While we were here in Lesotho my friends and I got to go on a short but very strenuous hike up to a nearby mountain top. We got to camp on the mountain and even watch the sunset from the very top. The next morning we were met with the most incredible sunrise and a quick hike down the mountain and back to our house. This was one of my favorite memories from Lesotho! It’s so funny to me that I just wrote a whole blog about the journey through the valley and up to the mountaintop when I literally had that physical experience just a few short months ago, all while the Lord was teaching me about this journey and how it relates to life. Wow thanks, God!

here are some pictures for you to enjoy from our hike:

 

 

If you made it to the end of this blog, I’m impressed and thanks for reading! I hope it wasn’t too long for ya! Anyways, I love you all and I’m so thankful for all of the love and support (financially, through prayer and/or reading my blogs) I’ve received from everyone over this past year and a half. It’s been an extremely humbling and life changing journey and I couldn’t be more grateful for this opportunity the Lord has blessed me with. 

 

Love,

Brianne