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"Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring;" Psalm 84:6

The Valley of Baca was also called the Valley of Weeping, and travelers from Bethlehem to Jerusalem had to pass through this valley. We pass through valleys of weeping on our journey to glory, but the key to enjoying the journey is to make that very valley a spring! Can you imagine what it would be like to be traveling through a wearisome, dry wilderness and come across a spring! What joy and rejoicing! Celebration! Laughter! The journey can proceed because there has been refreshment in the way.

The caregiving thought for the day is, make it a spring!

Caregiving is a Valley of Baca. There is grief, and weeping, and discouragement, but hidden in that valley, there are springs. You have to look for them! This has been my prayer every morning this week, "Lord, help me to make this a spring."

My mom was so humiliated with something, and I felt so bad for her, that at first, I didn't know what to say. Honestly, I felt like crying for her. Then, I remembered the spring. I started joking, we both burst out laughing, and the spring came forth gushing! Laughter is good medicine!

God is helping me in my hunt for springs! Certain tasks that I have to do are way out of my comfort zone and very hard. The first time I had to complete a thoroughly disagreeable task, (just think the worst you can imagine, I don't want to be graphic here) I cried the whole time. (Mom didn't know I was crying. I got her settled and went back to my task. I always try to be cheerful around her! That, definitely, will be another blog!) That day my prayer was something like, "I can't do this. How can I do this? Couldn't you have someone else do this?" As time progressed my prayer became, "God, please give me grace to do this." then "God, thank you that I can do this!" and then, not long ago, an amazing thing happened. I found that I was singing while I was doing the task! Come on! Singing! In the same valley where I wept like a baby, I was singing! That realization gave me deep joy! It had become a spring! I pursued the spring, but really, it was a gift from God!

The spring is more than laughter. It is enjoyment and refreshment found only in deep communion with God. Enjoy the Lord! Meet Him daily in the scripture. Pour out your heart to Him. Dig the well and He will fill it with water. What joy and refreshment! You can keep going! Remember, it's "passing through the Valley..." You are passing through. Hallelujah! Make it a spring!