Valley of Baka

Psalms 84:5-6

84:5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

84:6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

Having chosen the Lord as your strength, your heart will be guided by His Holy Spirit.

Blessed are you for choosing to follow, wherever it leads.

You might have to pass through the valley of weeping,

but beloved, know that you do not have to stay there.

Things will happen to you on this journey, and you will witness things on this journey.

That such things can happen in the walks of men will aggrieve you, and disappoint you.

But the faithful pilgrim will make it a place of springs!

Because the Lord had first opened a spring within them; An outpouring which defies language.

The Lord wants us to be close to Him, to share fellowship with Him.

Might they, having gone through the valley, had fellowship with the Lord?

Might they, having that spring of compassion placed in their heart,

that endless out-pour of wrath, and love at the same time,

come to share in the Lord's sufferings over us?

The humble pilgrim will make a place of springs of the water-less valley

because they do not wish to grieve the Lord,

in the way the world has so grieved them both.

And for this, blessings will collect not on the peaks, or the barren ground,

but in the lowliest dregs of the valley.

The poor in spirit are truly blessed.

-- Luis Gutierrez