I definitely think that everyone goes through the valleys of life, hard times, times of doubt, pain or grief… but the interesting part is that most people would rather pretend that they haven’t.
People only like to share the glamorous sides of themselves.Their successes, the shiny, the new. No one posts a picture that shows the messy kitchen and sink full of dishes… no… they share the adorable picture of the toddler licking a spoon with frosting on it..... (#bakingday, #yum) the top of the mountain if you will… but no one gets to see all of the dirty bowls and measuring spoons, the cake batter that’s been smeared all over every cabinet… which would be the proverbial valley. In our society we’ve gotten so accustomed to trying to "face tune" everything down to changing the camera angle or blurring out the imperfections. It makes sense… you want to always share the best version of yourself… and I’m at fault for that too. But as Christians I truly believe we need to normalize the imperfect. Normalize the difficult times, the pain, the grief… because that is where God does some of his best work… in the darkest valley!
I truly believe as Christians we need to model what true life is like for those who don’t know Jesus. We need to share that just because we love Jesus [and he loves us A LOT] that life may still be difficult. Just because you're walking with God doesn’t mean that that walk is always through the park, on the sunny side of the street. Christians cars break down [sometimes even on the way to church!], they get cancer, they lose their jobs, their loved ones pass away tragically and suddenly. Christians deal with the same pain and the same problems… but as a follower of Christ we have a not so secret weapon.... the love, grace and peace of Jesus Christ. And we are called to share it with the world!
I think if we start normalizing the valleys (the not so good stuff), not just the hills (the good stuff) it will show that even in the darkest of times, God is still with you, but he’s not always going to take pain away but what he is going to give you is a true sense of peace and he’s going to hold onto you through that pain and that’s what Grace is! Grace is being able to come out the other side saying that maybe there was a reason for this pain and no matter what I had this calm, this sense of peace.
Now... I’m not saying that every time a Christian goes through a valley they have this peace over them. I remember going through a difficult time with my health while at the same time my husband was admitted to the hospital (for PTSD) and I felt this peace of God, this peace that surpassed every ounce of understanding that anyone had, and I was able to just hold my head high! And many people, especially non-Christians were super confused- like what is wrong with you… how can you be so calm about this. There was no explanation… just God. BUT then the full weight of COVID came crashing down, and I remember sitting on the floor with my head in my hands doing lamaze breathing because I was in a full blown panic that the 24 rolls of toilet paper that I had in my pantry were not going to be enough. [Go ahead… please laugh… and roll your eyes- i’m right there with you!] I look back at that version of Danielle and I’m like Danielle Faith Williams what was wrong with you?! God saw you go through the season of life that was literally the WORST [you know you were staring down the barrel of a horrible disease diagnosis and your husband was fighting for his life in the hospital] and God held you up, he kept your family safe and whole… and now, how dare you sit on the ground and be anxious about toilet paper!!! What a doubting Thomas! (There are some really great lessons we can learn from Thomas, he was one of Jesus’ disciples… check out his story in John Chapter 20). But I have to give myself grace because I’m human after all… and humans have faults and humans are going to feel emotions…but when we’re close to God and we’re in his word constantly, we can refer to it and lean on it. It’s in those times when we can do what Pastor Steven Furtick suggested and give delayed praise! Even if you’re going through a rough time you can look back on the previous times that God saw you through the valley and give praise for that triumph and through that praise you will muster up enough strength to make it through your current valley.
The more I dive into the words of Christian writers, speakers, podcasters and bloggers I feel less and less alone. I realize that I am truly not alone! There are so many other messy sink christians who are brave enough to share their stories! Stories of pain and stories of doubt, stories of times that they were walking with Christ and they slipped up. Each and every one of those brave souls have lifted me up and encouraged me! You see my sweet friends, everyone has their own saved by grace story! I truly believe that if we all start to share out stories, we can share that life may be super messy, but with God, there’s going to be this beautiful, glorious rainbow on the other side, which is God’s grace. When we share the truth we’re going to be able to reach so many more people for his kingdom, and I think that is the true blessing!
So that is my story for today. I am a messy Christian, with a messy life. My life is full of traumatic ups and downs just like everyone else's! But I have a not so secret weapon. I have the precious gift of God's love, grace and peace. It's a relationship with a Father who loves all the messy parts of me. When you’re in a relationship with somebody, they love you through all of those difficult ugly parts! I’m so excited about my relationship with God that I want others to be able to feel that same peace and joy that comes with a relationship with a loving forgiving Father! If you are searching for a relationship with a father who loves you and supports you no matter your faults, your doubts, no matter your messy parts, through the good times and the bad… I would love to continue to tell you about my Jesus!
Side note… the "Let me tell you about my Jesus" is a nod to one of my all time favorite Christian artists Anne Wilson and her song “Let me tell you about my Jesus”. It’s a song we blast on repeat in my home! If you are wondering how to truly find this peace and grace that I keep talking about… please send me a message or an email… I would love to have a conversation with you about how great having a relationship with God truly is and how it can truly change your life! Email me at savedbygrace28llc@gmail.com
Super Side note...Although I am a messy Christian… and life is super messy sometimes… I am not messy… I'm actually supppppper OCD. Cleaning and organizing happens to be a hobby of mine- legit… like a favorite pastime! My family makes fun of me for my "deep cleaning". I even organize other people's things… for fun… sometimes without permission… I usually just fake apologize after saying “ohhh sorry I just couldn’t help myself, if you don’t like it I can put it back the way it was”! (hehe) So, just in case you don’t know me personally I wanted to make sure you can really get to know the real me. I mean, I don’t love folding laundry and sometimes I sneak away when it’s time to actually do the dishes… you know, because I'm human. But here’s a pro tip… when you really don’t feel like cleaning, washing or folding, put on an uplifting sermon, podcast or audiobook or jam out to some fabulous worship music! It helps! It lifts your soul and gives you the motivation to find the missing socks!