Valleys.

Tonight, at Young Life, we talked about valleys-which is ironic considering I literally live in the middle of a mountain range, and am completely surrounded by them.

This message tugged on my heartstrings, and reminded me of the ways Jesus has revealed Himself to me over the past few weeks. Let me share with you a little piece of my journey.
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I've been praying that God would provide a community for me here in Boone. My soul craves accountability and companionship. I love being around people, and have been relentlessly praying for a solid group of friends who possess my similar values. For weeks, I have been trying to get involved with on campus ministries and various clubs, meeting some incredible individuals. I have truly met some of my best friends here in Boone, and yet I still wanted more. I continued praying for a large group of people I could connect with on multiple levels.

Soon, I found myself stuck trudging through the valley.

As I kept praying, kept seeking God's will for my life-I noticed a shift. Some of the relationships I had established early in the semester started dwindling, exams were occurring, and one day, I found myself in the hospital. In that moment, my feelings of loneliness were all consuming. As I was hooked up to IV fluids, and the doctors started prepping me for the emergency surgery, I kept praying. I had made the commitment to go on a weekend retreat with Cru, a Christian organization, and I knew that this trip could help me establish the community for which I desperately prayed.

I recall tears streaming down my face, holding onto a sliver of hope that my complicated symptoms were the result of something other than appendicitis. After persuading the doctor to let me stay in a hotel with my mother for the night, instead of in an uncomfortable hospital bed, I reluctantly promised to come back to get more tests done the next morning. I felt dejected. Why had God allowed this trial? Did He not want to allow me to find the community I so craved?

How wrong I was in doubting His faithfulness.

The next morning, I miraculously awoke symptom free. The pain I was experiencing was not caused by appendicitis. I could hardly contain my awe at how my symptoms ceased. I was able to go on the Cru retreat this past weekend, and can honestly say that it was the defining moment of my college career thus far.

We laughed, sang about God, learned about Jesus, played games, and saw shooting stars. I made some incredible relationships with people, and now feel like I have a welcoming community. Everyone I met on that trip embraced me just as I am. I felt whole.

Jesus is so faithful. He provides exactly what we need in His perfect timing. Oh how easy it is to feel abandoned by God when we don't get something that we think we need at the exact moment we desire it. But He hears our every whispered thought and plea. Jesus is so much greater, and more wonderful than our perception of Him.

Oftentimes, He takes us through valleys before leading us to the mountaintops-a manifestation of His beauty. But He is ever present.

I prayed for a community for the past seven weeks, and He allowed me to find it.

Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."