This is one of my favorite quotes from The Tao. Recently, as part of my personal studies, the Holy Spirit has, like many before me, led me to study a lot of “eastern” philosophy and religion. In fact, I was led to many of these books as I studied the books that other Christian pilgrims study. I am fascinated by how other cultures give larger breadth to images of God. For this reason, this quote really stuck with me.
Because I am a westerner, I have this poor image of the valley. I like to conquer mountains. I need to accomplish things…to reach pinnacles…to summit the world’s highest mountains. I need ten steps to a better me. Or I need to learn how to be a better leader in five days. Maybe, I can make it just thirty days to a fitter me. But, in God’s eyes, those things are works. Instead of valleys, we have created a self-help, pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps, everybody needs to have six-pack abs, try-harder kind of world, and we are all exhausted. Nothing is this system is what God wants for us, or what we should want for each other.
I am not saying that we shouldn’t strive for excellence. We should. But we need a lot more valleys. In much of the Old Testament and poetically in the Psalms, the valleys are where we find rest. It is the place where we lean on God. The Creation’s soft earth nourishes us and gives us rest. Valleys are where strange bread falls from the sky. Valleys are easy to traverse. God helps us be still in valleys.
So, this phrase really stuck with me, because not only does it remind me that I need more valleys, but it also reminds me that everyone else does too. When you have trouble knowing how to “love your neighbor,” a valley is a good way to think about your actions. Am I a lush, green flatland with a stream of refreshing water running through it? Am I providing a place for someone to settle down for a mid-afternoon siesta in the shade of a tree? Am I where the creatures of this world most often come to have their offspring? Valleys aren’t places of want, but rather, places of provision and rest.
So, sometimes, when I have a hard time thinking about how to love someone, especially when words aren’t enough, I think of this phrase. It helps me figure out how to act in their time of need.
Thanks be to God for our valleys.
