The Valley of the Shadow

When her newborn breath-less life was

placed into your hands

you ensured that life was breathed into her

When there was no one to speak for her

you gave her a voice

Though she could not walk

you carried her

Though she could not sit alone

she rested in your arms

When her throat tightened

so did yours

When she could not cry

you wept tears like blood

When all but hope had left

yet you never lost hope

There were angels watching over her

but you were more attentive than them all

You were her shadow.

And when her life was being drawn from her

you would have given your life for hers

But there was someone who already had

and He is standing at the entrance

to the Valley of the Shadow

And He says, "You have given her

all you can give

Now I will give her

everything"

So you unlace

her tiny fingers from yours

for the last time

and you wrap them around His

and as He draws her to Himself

He says to you,

"The shadow you see in this Valley

is my shadow

and it is all that stands between

her and the welcoming light

of my Father

"Even as you shadowed her,

how much you felt she was some-

where else! and you were right:

For her whole life

she has been dwelling

in the secret place of the Most High

"And the shadows she has lived in

were Mine as well as yours,

for as you have shadowed her

I have shadowed you

"And now it is in My shadow,

the shadow of the Almighty,

My shadow that she knows

as well as she knows yours,

that she will travel through this Valley

"She is not afraid of the Valley of the Shadow 

for
because of you

she is not afraid of shadows.”

- for K -

January 30, 2010