Advice For The Valleys of Life — crystal lee williams

In the sidebar of the blog page of my website there is an about me / what to expect write up. It reads:
“No faking. No sugar coating.”

Yet I sat here not knowing how to come to you all after months of not blogging, writing, creating or speaking while endless thoughts swirl my mind and even greater emotions penetrate my heart. And the truth is, there’s just no other way to say this…

Life has and is changing for us.

No, I’m not referring to the ongoing effects of a global pandemic, the reality of racial injustice, natural disasters, social unrest, politics, or any of that. Though it all also weighs heavy on us. And I get it, for most of us, the internet and social media is the last place we want to show up to right now.

But I mean personally, as a family, life has forever changed

We are still grieving the very sudden and tragic loss of a close family member. And I can not fake it. When, if, and how that grief appears won’t go covered up or hush-hush by me. I can’t and won’t pretend because grief has no timeline.

Nor will I sugar coat the fact that the past year, aside from grief, has been a valley for us.

It’s been the darkest valley yet.

Oh yes, the smiles you’ve seen are very real, but that doesn’t make the valley less precise. We’re wrestling our way through it even today as I type. And while I may not yet be able to offer a fountain of wisdom as to life down here, I can and will share this:

Advice for the valleys in life

1. Don’t stop at a place you were only intended to journey through (key word here). Keep going. One foot in front of the other, one day at a time. This is not your final destination.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”

— Psalm 23:4

2. You are not alone. Look that devil in the face and repeat after me, “you will not isolate me, you liar, people do care about me even if they do not fully understand what I am going through, God does love me and He is with me in this valley.”

“...I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

— Psalm 23:4

3. God is still good. Don’t pray that God help you understand because you may never understand or get your answers on this side of Heaven. Rather pray that He helps you understand how He is still faithful and help you believe He is still good and still at work.

“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

— Psalm 23:6

For the past couple of months my journal has been my only writing escape. But I’m sure eventually I will start writing on the internet again.

Maybe I’ll start with sharing about Josiah (he’s getting so big and there’s lots to share)! Or perhaps I’ll share a recipe or finally crank out that San Diego Trip recap blog post or one about my latest trip to a vineyard.

For now, this will do.