MEDITATION:
Written by Peggy Stackle.
Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley is a new hymn to me. It’s actually an American spiritual, part of the public domain and undated. It portrays the true humanity of Jesus Christ in enduring the trials and temptations of life just as do all other humans. The first stanza is:
Jesus walked this lonesome valley, He had to walk it by Himself;
O Nobody else could walk it for Him, He had to walk it by Himself.
The last stanza is:
You must go and stand your trial, you have to stand it by yourself.
Yes, we each have to face our own trials but one of the great things about being Christian is that we have a community of other Christians around us who will stand by us, support us and pray for us. Almost two decades ago I had a surgery (PTE) and I did not keep it a secret. I told everybody about it and gave them the date, time, and location. I wanted everyone I knew to pray for me and the doctors, nurses, hospital staff, absolutely everybody. It’s a good thing too. There was an issue trying to revive me the last time. Afterword my doctor asked me about my amazing recovery and asked if I had a community of support. “You bet” I said, my family, friends, church, and my sister had put the prayer request out on the internet. It went around the world. The doctor told me that patients who have a strong support community do better. Yes, I was the one under the knife but I did not walk that lonesome valley by myself. The prayers of my community and those way beyond its boundaries surrounded me and kept me safe.
PRAYER:
A Puritan prayer from the book “The Valley of Vision.”
Lord, high and holy, meek, and lowly, You have brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see you in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Your stars shine. Let me find your light in my darkness:
Your life in my death,
Your joy in my sorrow,
Your grace in my sin,
Your riches in my poverty Your glory in my valley
MUSIC MEDITATION:
Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley: Pete Seeger/Arlo Guthrie. This folk hymn combines the styles of African-American spiritual with Appalachian folk music.
Pathways Press.com 
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