“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”  Proverbs 13:12

At some point in life we all have lost hope. We get stuck in a rut. Stuck in a job we don’t like. We find ourselves in messy break ups. A loved one transitions. We are in the valley of life. Certainly life has its ups and downs, peaks and valleys. What I like about myself (and yes I did just type what I like about myself ha!) is that I believe in being authentic, honest, real and sharing at my discretion, the other side of what I am going through or what I have been through. People only want to share the victory. They don’t want to share their defeats or their not so happy thoughts. But I believe it helps others to not feel weak, ashamed and alone.

So, here I am in this valley. I climb and I slide back down. Sometimes I sit in a stupor (see yesterday’s blog https://nikkisconfettilife.com/2025/07/20/sunday-morning-coffee-musingsfighting-for-my-life/) and it’s dark and cold in the valley. Especially, at a midnight hour. But this morning (Joy comes in the morning or an eventual morning) I woke up and prayed per usual. I got out of bed and I said to myself, “I thank God for my sanity” because sometimes I feel like I might lose it in this season. And then this thought unfolded:

I give thanks for the valley. I am not alone.

I give thanks for resilience. I’m never going to give up on me. And don’t you give up on you. This may be one of the hardest battles in your life. But I know you’ve got some fight left in you. And if you’re like,”Nah Nicole. I don’t. I don’t have anything left.” Then I say rest. God will continue to fight your battle for you. Get in where you fit in. God doesn’t get tired.

We may have to search for hope in our valleys. Sometimes you don’t feel like hoping. You know should believe everything is going to be alright but you just don’t feel like it when you look at the world around you. Or when you look at your situation. How can you be hopeful when you are grieving? How can you be hopeful when your children are not living right? How can you be hopeful when day in and day out lives are being taken? How????

I say remember the times you thought it was over and suddenly or slowly things changed for the better. Remember the times things didn’t turn out the way you wanted them to but, you still made it through. I say remember that you have been through some dark days and some fire but you are still standing. These memories can give you hope. It give you strength and remind you that you are indeed resilient.

Know that you are not alone. Others are in the same valley with different situations and we must encourage each other. Some are on the mountain top yelling down at you: “Rest my child. You can fight another day. Don’t give up! Help is on the way! Don’t give up! I am on the way! Don’t give up! God is there in the valley fighting for you as you take your rest. God is there fighting with you, climbing up with you.”

And sometimes, it’s good to look at someone in the valley with you and encourage them. Just like I am doing now. There is a scripture I found last year that I have never heard read in a church. I know you may not be Christian but, I know you may consider yourself spiritual. And if you are spiritual, then you, too will like this. It give me something to look forward to in the valley. It gives me light in a dark valley. When you finally find your hope, when you finally get to the mountain or get to the end of the tunnel of whatever it is you are dealing with, it will be like this:

JOB 11:17-19

Life will be brighter than noonday,
    and darkness will become like morning.
¹⁸ You will be secure, because there is hope;
    you will look about you and take your rest in safety.
¹⁹ You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,
    and many will court your favor.

~Nikki