Trusting in God leads to water he places in ‘Bitter Valleys’

When I heard through the diocesan grapevine that “The Catholic Spirit” was looking for a regular column writer, I went to my superior and asked what she thought about my sending in my name. She said it was a great idea! So, encouraged by the blessing of obedience, I e-mailed the editors, giving the link to the articles that I have written, and applying for the position. They replied immediately and graciously welcomed me aboard.

When everything was arranged, I told my Sisters in the Community that I would be writing a regular column for the “Spirit.” They were used to my writing, and they took this new development in stride. One of their few questions was, “What will you call the column?” For, besides the title of the individual article, the column itself usually has a title.

I had thought about this, and my first choice for a title was “Further Up and Further In,” from “The Last Battle” in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. I am a fervent Narnia fan, and I believe that “further up and further in” is an excellent description of the spiritual life. However, after a quick online search, I found that the phrase was already the name for an online group, and I figured that I might have copyright problems if I used it.

The next suggestion immediately came to my mind: “A Place of Springs.” This is part of a verse from Psalm 84, a hymn sung by pilgrims as they make their way to the house of God. They rejoice as they look forward to entering God’s presence and in verse 6, they reflect on the difficulties that they have encountered.

There are several translations of verse 6: “As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs.” Another translation says, “As they pass through the Valley of the Balsam they make there a water hole.”

These are both valid translations, but the one I am familiar with is from the Grail Psalms that are used in the Liturgy of the Hours, which all priests and religious recite. This translation says, “As they go through the Bitter Valley they make it a place of springs.” I don’t know where the Valley of Baca is; I assume it’s in the Holy Land somewhere, but I know very well where the different Bitter Valleys are through which I have struggled at various times in my life.

We all have our Bitter Valley and many of us have several of them: valleys of depression and despair, of financial hardship, of broken relationships, of difficulties and problems of every kind. We have only to look back over our life and we can remember them and the anguish and turmoil that we experienced as we trudged slowly and with difficulty, one small, painful step at a time.

What I love about this verse is that I don’t need to do anything to change the Bitter Valley except to keep going and not to give up. My very endurance transforms it “into a place of springs.” I may not realize it at the time, but looking back it may become clear that my persistence made a difference. Or others may notice how the passage through that Bitter Valley changed me. It may have taught me compassion, trust in God, the power of grace. After struggling through it I may see more clearly the beauty and wonder of the people I love, the truth of our faith, and, most important, how much God loves me.

I probably won’t see these things while I am in the Valley, but if I continue to make just one more step along its path, and then another and another, I will find the water that is there because of my trust in God.

My articles are my own pilgrimage songs, flowing from my struggles in different Bitter Valleys. I pray that those who read them may find them to be also “a place of springs.”

Sister Gabriela of the Incarnation is a member of the Discalced Carmelites order in Flemington www.flemingtoncarmel.org.