Walking Through Valleys

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 Hey all-

I had the amazing opportunity to work at Camp Shamineau this summer as an SMT/ Jr. Counselor- and I learned so much. Whether it was crying and praying with my friends, or watching God's children praise him with all their hearts, there is one really big thing that I am taking away from this summer, and that is Psalm 23.

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will 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; you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Specifically, what stuck out to me about this Psalm is verse four- where it talks about walking through dark valleys. 

I was sitting in Chapel one night with my campers. The speaker was talking about Psalm 23, and I kinda zoned out, until he mentioned that Jesus is always walking beside us.

That really hit me. I'd been struggling with a lot of things that I hadn't really gotten over yet. So when the speaker said that, I snapped back to the present. I hadn't realized, that even though I may be walking through valleys of shadow and death, I don't have to be afraid, because Jesus is always walking beside me and He's never going to leave me. My good friend at camp calls it a Jesus slap. When Jesus kind of slaps you in the face and says- "Hey. Listen to me." 

That was my Jesus slap. And I want you all to know, that you may be going through some really, really hard stuff right now, but Jesus is always always always walking with you, and he's never leaving you. If you didn't see that before, I hope you see that now. I hope this brief article thingy spoke to you. God is always there, sometimes we just need to be whacked in the face before we can see it.