{"id":1424,"date":"2023-05-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/upliftingstar.com\/star1015denver\/2023\/05\/30\/blessings-in-the-valley\/"},"modified":"2023-05-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T06:00:00","slug":"blessings-in-the-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/upliftingstar.com\/star1015denver\/2023\/05\/30\/blessings-in-the-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"The Greenery of Valleys: Unveiling the Hidden Blessings in Life’s Low Points"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is something majestic about finding a clearing at the top of a mountain and looking out as far as the eye can see. It\u2019s spectacular during sunrises or sunsets when the sky explodes with color. Sigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valleys on the other hand, do not provide the same perspective. It is difficult to see past your next step \u2013 because if you look too far ahead, you may trip and fall. A valley may be defined as an elongated depression of the Earth\u2019s surface<\/strong>. An elongated depression\u2026hmm. Now add darkness to the valley and well, we get the idea\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaiah 54:10<\/a> reads: “For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 23:4<\/a>: \u201cEven when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost two years ago, our family experienced a deep valley. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the painful circumstances we faced involved my son-in-law\u2019s health. At that time, Ben and my daughter had only been married for 6 months. He landed in the hospital with COVID for 11 days and we feared we might lose him<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his 11 days in the hospital, my daughter, Lauren had daily check-ins with his doctor. He knew she had lots of people praying for him and would eventually begin the check-ins with \u201cthis is how we need to pray today.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One day, the doctor shared with Lauren that he was used to seeing fear in the eyes of patients battling COVID. But, he went on to say that he never saw fear in Ben\u2019s eyes<\/strong>. I was so encouraged by this story because it is a clear example of \u201cfearing no evil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greenery of the valleys<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now back to the mountains\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a trip to Colorado I was again enjoying the views along the mountain roads. One of the vistas unexpectedly caught my attention. Although the entirety of the mountain view was breathtaking, I noticed that there was only greenery (life) in the Valley<\/strong>. The mountaintops were free of growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you noticed that personal and spiritual growth usually take place during the valley experiences? Yet, it is safe to say that most of us don\u2019t choose those painful valleys \u2013 do we? The truth is that God is with us in the valleys. His presence brings us great comfort<\/strong> when all we can see is the next step in front of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, you may find yourself on the mountaintop<\/a>. If you are there \u2013 take in the view! Breath deeply and thank God for the perspective you are able to have from that place. Acknowledge His unfailing love towards you in every season. If, you find yourself in a valley, remember that you are not alone<\/strong>. Learn the life-changing lessons that come from this season and focus on God\u2019s nearness and peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claudia Guardado-Wittel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director of Philanthropy & Advancement, STAR 99.1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Re-read Isaiah 54:10 or Psalm 23:4. What words are encouraging you along your journey?<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is something majestic about finding a clearing at the top of a mountain and looking out as far as the eye can see. It\u2019s spectacular during sunrises or sunsets when the sky explodes with color.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[24,28,84],"class_list":["post-1424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual-growth","tag-encouragement","tag-inspiration","tag-spiritual-growth"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-13 19:59:12","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/upliftingstar.com\/star1015denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/upliftingstar.com\/star1015denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/upliftingstar.com\/star1015denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftingstar.com\/star1015denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftingstar.com\/star1015denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/upliftingstar.com\/star1015denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftingstar.com\/star1015denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/upliftingstar.com\/star1015denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftingstar.com\/star1015denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftingstar.com\/star1015denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}