The Valley of the Shadow

"Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It’ll be spring soon. The orchards will be in blossom, and the birds will be nesting in the hazel-thicket...and they’ll be sowing the summer barley in the lower fields, and eating the first of the strawberries with cream... Do you remember the taste of strawberries?”

“No...Sam...I don’t recall the taste of food, nor the sound of water, the touch of grass. I’m…naked in the dark, with nothing – no veil – between me and the wheel of Fire! I can see him, with my waking eye!” .........................................(The Return of the King)

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There comes a moment in every Warrior's life when the war against him grows so intense that he begins to truly believe that all hope for victory is lost. There comes a valley in every pilgrim's journey so deep and lost in shadow that escape feels impossible. There comes a storm in every life so thick with impenetrable darkness that it seems the light may never shine again.

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Have you journeyed through such a place? Are you lost in that Shadow now? Naked, alone, in the dark? Can't even remember the taste of stawberries, the sound of water, or the feel of sunlight on your face? And the darkness goes so deep that nothing anyone says - or even your own "beliefs" - has the slightest effect on pulling you out?

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Welcome to the Enemy's deadliest weapon, brothers and sisters.

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You have passed through Christmastime, through the season of Hope...and yet somehow the hopelessness has returned. You've come through the New Year, the season of fresh starts, second chances, and renewed commitments...and yet nothing has actually changed. You've offered the new year to the Lord and stood back, prepared to receive his blessings with all the faith you could muster...and instead the war against your heart has moved from "heavy fighting" to feeling like somebody has initiated The Doomsday Machine.

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So what now?

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First, rather than offering you some simple advice or encouragement, let us make it clear that we know all about the Valley of the Shadow.

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Intimately.

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Paralysis of the will? A deep settled sentiment that life has lost it's meaning? A cloud of depression so thick you feel you will never laugh with the light heart of a child ever again? Deep sobs rising from deep in your chest as you lie sleepless in the small hours of the night? Numb? Empty? Not sure what there is to get out of bed for today?

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Yeah, we know all about that stuff.

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And no, not just in the past tense. It's a long valley, and one doesn't climb out of it in a day.

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But if you can see that it IS only a valley of Shadow and not Final Reality, take heart friends -- the spell has already begun to falter, for its hold over you consisted primarily in its sense of inescapable permanence.

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And if we can offer some small encouragement...? We're pretty sure that Tolkien's little hero was right (as usual) when he tried to soothe Frodo's heart with sweet memories of the Shire. The key to defeating the Enemy's 'cloud of depression' attack is to travel in one's mind and imagination to a time and a place where joy, hope, and Life were more real than the Darkness.

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Where is your 'Shire'? Can you even remember it anymore? No? You must. Try harder. Concentrate. Get alone. The three keys offered by John Eldredge are essential here: silence, solitude, and beauty. You are going to need the silence and the solitude in order to conjure up the Beauty. And what you need more than anything else right now is the Beauty. As Eldredge encourages, try making a list of everything you love - the things that make life a wonder and a thrill and a reason to laugh and celebrate. Write them out. All of them: a moonrise over Montego Bay, falling in love, your favorite pizza. Force yourself to remember them. Soak in the beauty of all of God's best gifts. Let them have their say on your emotions -- let them be at least as real as the Darkness.

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Yes, we know that part of this 'cloud' of depression is a loss of desire to even try to fight it. But you must. You are the God's warriors for this generation. So many are counting on you.

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Don't lose yourself in this present Shadow, friends. The stars will shine again..

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"Look Mr. Frodo! There is light and Beauty up there that no Shadow can touch!"

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