Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me Psalm 23:4 NRSV

Coming home from work I used to drive through a notch

in the hills called Sugar Hollow. The interesting thing about the place was that in late afternoon the angle of the surrounding hills blocked out most of the sun when it was low on the horizon. You would drive out of bright sunshine into a sort of twilight for a few miles. Then after a few long minutes suddenly the shadows lifted and the sun came shone again as you passed through to the other side.

That passing through may be what you are experiencing today. Maybe everything seemed pretty normal in your life till unexpectedly the boss called you into the office or the doctor called about those test results. The bright sunshine of your day in a moment changed to a shadowy path. If you are at all like me it feels at those moments that even the most familiar of land-marks seem strangely different in darkness. That is the time to remind ourselves to hang on and keep going. We do not need to panic. Jesus has promised to be with us always. Whatever deep river, hot fire or dark valley that lies ahead is temporary. Just past the shadows of the notch we are passing through, His road will lead us into sunshine and all the way home!