Don’t forget you need God by the still waters just as much as you need Him in the valley.

It’s easy to cling tightly to God when life is falling apart. When your heart is broken, your future feels uncertain, and you’re desperate for peace, you naturally run to Him. But sometimes when healing comes, when life begins to stabilize again, we slowly loosen our grip. We start relying on ourselves instead of the One who carried us through.

Recently, I walked through a valley, probably the longest and most painful one of my life.

My entire life changed. I lost friendships, moved away from everything familiar, and completely started over. I faced loneliness, shame, fear, depression, self-doubt, and countless moments wondering when I would finally reach the still waters again.

Divorce, heartbreak, and rebuilding from scratch were not what I imagined for my 28th year on this earth.

But the truth is, none of us plan for suffering. We don’t anticipate loss, disappointment, betrayal, or seasons that completely undo the life we thought we’d have. Yet hardship is part of living in a broken world.

Before starting therapy, I constantly feared the worst-case scenario. I lived with anxiety over what might happen and whether I would survive it if it did. I was terrified that pain would break me beyond repair.

And then life happened.

The worst thing I imagined didn’t happen exactly the way I feared… but it came close enough that I thought it might destroy me.

But guess what?

I survived.

Not because I was strong on my own.
Not because I had all the answers.
Not because I handled everything perfectly.

I survived because God sustained me.

Looking back now, I can see His hand in places I couldn’t recognize at the time. In the moments I cried on the floor. In the nights I felt abandoned. In the mornings I didn’t know how I would keep going. He never once left me.

Psalm 34:18 says:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

And He truly was.

Despite my fear, despite the grief, despite not wanting this to be part of my story, I can honestly say I feel closer to God and stronger than ever before.

Not stronger because life became easy, but stronger because suffering taught me where my true foundation is.

I’ve learned that peace is not found in having a perfect life.
Peace is found in trusting a perfect God.

Now I not only trust myself to overcome difficult situations, but more importantly, I trust God, knowing He will carry me through things that feel impossible to survive.

Romans 8:28 became more than just a verse to me during this season:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Not some things.
Not only the beautiful things.
All things.

Even the heartbreak.
Even the loss.
Even the seasons that leave you wondering who you are anymore.

The enemy may intend to destroy you with pain, shame, fear, or disappointment, but God has a way of transforming wounds into wisdom and suffering into testimony.

What almost broke you can become the very thing God uses to strengthen someone else.

So, if you’re the girl reading this while walking through your own devastating season, I want to encourage you.

Maybe your life doesn’t look anything like you thought it would.
Maybe you feel behind.
Maybe you’re grieving someone, something, or even the version of yourself you used to be.
Maybe you’re exhausted from trying to hold everything together.

Please hear me:

Just because you are in the valley does not mean God is absent there.

Psalm 23:4 says:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

Notice it says walk through the valley… not stay there forever. This season is not the end of your story.

There will be still waters again.
There will be healing again.
There will be joy again.

And when you finally arrive there, don’t forget the God who carried you through the valley to get there.

One day you’ll look back and realize:
the season you thought would destroy you was actually the season God used to rebuild you.

And maybe that rebuilding will become the foundation for the most beautiful version of your life yet.