The Lily of the Valley

During Joe’s chemo treatments, I remember asking nurses, “Has this chemo worked for others?”  They would answer, “Take it a day at a time.”  Or, “Just enjoy every day you’re together.”  And, “We are all dying.” Somehow at the time, those words weren’t very comforting. How do I focus each day when my life is filled with sickness and fear of losing him? Living with his pain, and thinking of him as dying rattled my world. I often felt guilty thinking of myself, after all, I wasn’t the one who was “suffering.”

Jesus is so cool. He allowed me to ask the hard questions. He let me struggle with those true, but pat answers. He allowed me to hurt and be myself without having to pretend to be okay. Actually, He was waiting for me to see my helplessness, because He is “the God of the valleys.” This valley was surrounded by mountains of cancer which seemed immovable. They cast shadows; shadows of death; shadows that seemed like prison walls… no way out. They told me there was less than a 6% chance of getting out. In Hosea 14:5, Jesus Christ is likened to a lily that springs up in dark valleys. “The Lily of the Valley” springs up wherever He pleases.

Jesus was to me a beautiful flower. He was tall, strong and bright white. How did He get there? He was there in that place all along. He whispered in my ear as if He had a secret. This Lily is in you! This Lily is My Son, who is the way out of the valley. He sprung up in you long ago when you first believed. Look to Him, He is the Mystery that brings Life in helpless places. I looked to Him, learned to behold Him and hope started rising in my spirit. How this works I can’t really say, but I know that the Lily, JESUS, pulls me through and triumphs over the valley. This Lily is still IN ME TODAY… seven years later. Now I “BEHOLD” Him as I walk through new valleys. In the midst of your valleys, behold, the beauty of the Lord.

Stronghold Ministry