The valley sucks

You know, "ye though I walk through the valley..." Wanted to clarify for my West Coast friends, although that Valley is pretty frickin hot most of the time. Anyway. A while back a close friend who has the most amazing gift of knowledge from God prayed for my wife and I. He said we're not where we expected to be right now, we're in the valley, but God is with us. As I drove around in my truck today I got to thinking about that. The valley sucks. I mean that's alright, it's not supposed to be a place of joy and expectation. It's a place of brokenness and anticipation of the end of the valley. I've always been the one to nod and give that reassuring, pastoral hug when someone says they're being broken or their in the "valley" but never really understood the concept. You know you go through down times in your life and think you're being "broken" cause that's a good Christian word/excuse for when life isn't all puppy dogs and BMW's. And towards the end of that period you think wow I've been broken by God I'm ready to move forward now! And soon you are and the puppy dogs begin to frolic again. Now I'm getting a little bit better idea of brokenness. Just totally crapped out, that's brokenness. A sense of isolation and wonder if things will ever move the other way. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in some pyscho-funk or anything, just realizing this is a new place for me and it's tough. Every little thing seems magnified. It's so easy to follow God and "hear his voice" and "be in his will" when you're on the mountaintop, but the valley sucks. But you know Moses tended sheep in a baking desert for 40 years, David lived in caves and watched Saul take a dump, Jesus got tempted face to face by Satan himself. I guess my valley's not so bad...