Peaks and Valleys

I took this picture a few years ago as we crossed over into Canada to view Glacier National Park from the Canadian side.  The snow capped mountain peaks are breathtakingly beautiful and majestic, yet nothing can grow above the tree line.  It’s in the valley, watered by the mountain snow melt, and bathed in the life giving warmth of the sun, that flowers bloom and crops grow to feed and nourish us.  Life is a combination of peaks and valleys.  The peaks are those times of inspiration when our spirits soar to new heights of understanding, clarity and gratitude.  We know we are loved.  We know God is good.  From our vantage point on the mountain peak, we can see it so clearly.  However, it is in the valleys of life with all of its ups and downs, its trials, and disappointments, that we grow and produce the fruit of God’s presence within our lives.  The peaks provide the insight and inspiration so we know that we have a resource above our own as we toil in the valleys of life.  Maybe that’s why there are two peaks to every valley?  Jesus is called the lily of the valley, and he invites us to bloom with him.