Eden Hearts In A Broken World

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil. Psalm 23:4, NIV

YOU DON’T WANT to hear that your son has a chronic illness he will have to learn to manage the rest of his life. You don’t want to believe that several terrible weeks have all added up to this diagnosis. You want to have the disease, not him. You want to give him the world, not Crohn’s disease.

Heartbreaking news is so disorienting. We are never ready for the car accident, the test results, the miscarriage, the heart attack. It’s as if we step into a foreign land we’ve barely heard of, are asked to speak a language we’ve never spoken, and the new streets in our neighborhood have names like:

Grief.

Fear.

Sadness.

Bargaining.

Uncertainty.

Grit.

Depression.

What do we do when we are forced to wander these shadowy streets? How do we know what’s true? Where can we find light?

Light shines on different truths at different times. One truth that often sheds its light on me is something I hear from my pastor often: We are born with Eden hearts in a broken world.^a Our souls long for restoration, and this longing helps us remember where we come from. We ache for Eden—and even more so, the restored Eden to come.

Another ray in the darkness we can depend on is that we are not singled out to suffer. We are all born with brokenness. No one is exempt. And it’s not how we manage our brokenness, but how we walk through the valley that matters. David, the writer of this psalm, says he will fear no evil in the valley.

So if we’re afraid in the valley, does that mean we lack faith?

Hardly.

Grace in the valley looks like faith, even when we are afraid. Faith and fear can coexist. The two are not mutually exclusive.

What do we do when we are forced to wander these shadowy streets? How do we know what’s true? Where can we find light?

Think of Jesus. The night before He was arrested, as He was praying—asking the Father for a different way, a different plan, a different cup to drink—fear was present. Surely Jesus anticipated what Romans did to rebels. He had seen crucifixions of criminals and knew the road ahead of Him. But we know His faith never left Him. We know Jesus pressed into His Father’s love, into His plan.

Our faith can hold in the face of fear. By grace, I’ve seen it hold in my son’s hospital visits. I’ve seen it hold when the doctor calls with bad news. I’ve seen it hold in my bathroom through all of our grief-stricken tears.

May we be women who walk through our brokenness with faith, even in the face of fear. May we know our faith will outlast our fear. May we know that Jesus walked through the darkest valley but came out full of light.

GRACE REFLECTION: Pray with me, “Jesus, You walked through dark valleys and faced fear, dread, hate, and terror. Thank You for choosing to walk through the valleys with me, knowing what they’re like and showing me that You are still good. Amen.”