PEAKS AND VALLEYS

Just got back from the X{CL}:8 conference and it was a wonderful experience. The emphasis of the weekend was on Mentorship. In fact all of the delegates were divided up and given an in house mentor (I was one of them) and then challenged to find one in their home faith communities. Along with Mentorship, over the course of the weekend we were blessed to hear from some great speakers including the Allens (Salvation Army officers in Mississauga) and Doug Hammond. Both were great speakers and were very challenging. In particular Doug really challenged me indirectly to get more into the word and to memorize scripture. His ability to recall scripture was absolutely remarkable and something I want to strive for.

This weekend was a certainly a spiritual high or a peak and it reaffirmed the fact that my Christian walk has been and is all about Peaks and valleys. God has been teaching me that I can enjoy the Peaks, but it is actually in the valleys in which we truly grow.

I am thankful to God for a wonderful experience and I am mindful of those close to me who may be in a valley. My mother who is going through cancer treatment. She is a trooper but I know it is hitting her hard, especially the waits in between operations and treatments. I pray my mothers faith and friends/family will help her through this.

I am also mindful of a good friend of mine a mentor and his family who just experienced the loss of baby. Having just experienced the birth of my first child and the anxiety associated with waiting for him and praying for his safe arrival. I can not imagine how it would feel to have lost a child in that process. I again hope that they are able to move through this in faith and even though they may not understand why, that they see the other blessings around them( their other beautiful and healthy children) and some how make it through.

I pray for all of you who are going through valleys. I pray you will find your way through them and be better off on the other side of the valley. I also pray for all of you on a peak and I pray that God will equip you for the next valley.

Peace,