Through the Valley

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

Psalm 23:4-5a

In the valley, there are sweet waters. Oh?! Really?! The water is not so sweet when you feel you are next on the 'most hopeless list'.

Looking at the stats will most certainly cast a shadow and show the depth of the daily struggle through a major valley in which at least one out of every school-aged student in Korea never finds comfort. (Stats show that at least one school-aged child commits suicide every day!)

So, what leads these precious lives to feeling they are at the point of no return? Family feuds, low scores at school, failed relationships with the other sex . . . and the list goes on. The race for materialism and the break-down in traditional families leave many youth spinning out of control and having no idea how to get their car back in the right lane. If all of these areas are in check . . . the need to become a test-writing robot (obtaining nothing less than perfect score), drains every last ounce of sanity and creativity, leaving just an empty shell.

BUT, there IS hope! The hope is found not in removing all valleys. The hope is found in finding the right companion through the valley. Nothing is more glorious than learning the true meaning of 'through' the valley. Let's define 'through':

• to completion
• from beginning to end
• over the whole distance
• from one end or side to the other
• throughout the entire extent
  

So, we are not meant to stay in this valley of dispair! That's hope! We are meant to see the other side. We are not meant to quit in the middle . . . we can see the end - completion.
We cannot avoid the bleakness of the stats at hand . . . however, we can spread a little ray of light into each little life we meet on a daily basis. We can change the stats, one child at a time. Teach them, there is hope! Teach them that there is someone who cares. Teach them that even though they may feel lost, lonely, and hopeless . . . the joy comes once you have overcome and made it to the other side of the valley. No one and nothing is worth throwing away the life you have in front of you! You have value. No matter what others have done to you . . . you are special and someone cares. You may not be the best in your class and your family may never be satisfied with who you are, but you can go the distance - you can have a real life! We have a responsibility to show them we care and that most of all, they CAN know a God who truly cares for them on a very personal level.
Through the valley and up the mountain, into the sunshine of true living!