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    Lessons from the Journey: From The Valley To The Mountaintop
    Lessons from the Journey: From The Valley To The Mountaintop
    Lessons from the Journey: From The Valley To The Mountaintop
    Ebook88 pages1 hour

    Lessons from the Journey: From The Valley To The Mountaintop

    By Tracey Jackson

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    About this ebook

    Lessons From The Journey: From The Valley To Mountaintop is a Christian inspirational book where the author shares personal situations to help readers cope and triumph over tough times. The author warmly relates her own struggles in a four phase "journey" metaphor: The Valley, The Wilderness, The Ascent and The Mountaintop. With titles like "You Are Allowed One Meltdown" and "The Process Is The Profit", the reader is sure to walk away with the tools needed meet and conquer the challenge.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateJan 1, 2016
    ISBN9780996240116
    Lessons from the Journey: From The Valley To The Mountaintop

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      Book preview

      Lessons from the Journey - Tracey Jackson

      Mountain

      INTRODUCTION

      WHAT IF GOD….

      Orchestrated a string of events and people to enter your life in order to challenge your faith and refine your character? What if some of those events were tough trials so that not only you’d grow and trust His guidance, but also be an inspiration to onlookers and passerby’s? What if these events catapulted you into your purpose for living? God is truly a master architect who uses the best and worst times of your life to shape and mold you into the person you are truly supposed to be.

      Trials are like journeys. They begin by being thrust into circumstances that we have no control over: illness, heartbreak, job loss or death. Almost immediately we begin to walk through the dry places of doubt and fear. Our hearts and minds endure the wilderness of long suffering. We hoist our bodies up the mountain of struggle, moving solely in God’s strength because ours alone has completely been exhausted. One day though, perhaps without notice, we find ourselves standing on the mountaintop basking in complete freedom, striking the flag of our personal victory in its peak, marking the end of the tears and struggle.

      Every journey that you will go through in this life is not meant to cause harm, but to bring you closer to Him. He wants to work in and through you so that your life will be a testament of His greatness, power, love, and mercy, if you allow Him. On this day, decide how you are going to use your journey experience to better your life as well as the lives of others.

      I’ve decided to share selected trials from a journey that started the moment I turned age 29 and lasted until the eve of my 35th birthday with you. The late 20’s through the mid 30’s can be a precious time in adulthood, where various learning experiences are taking place. People leave jobs to open businesses, get married, start families, and find their own individual purposes. And along with the expected, comes the unexpected. I endured one trial after another, of various sizes, in the most inopportune times, happening in no specific order; a buffet of challenges or a symphony of troubles, if you will. Some added to my overall well-being, and some took me to the edge of my faith. Little did I know, the trials happened when they were supposed to; thus, morphing into opportunities for growth and change.

      Whether you are at the beginning, middle, or approaching the end of your respective journey, I pray that this book will serve as another guide to help take you through or prepare you for the trials ahead.

      PROLOGUE

      Iwas prepped and ready for surgery. My mother, now 70 years old, was sitting beside my bed with the familiar, calm demeanor I’d seen during hard times growing up. Between moments of humming hymns, she glanced over at me, and said how proud of me she was. I didn’t feel so strong at the moment and was sure that being wired to numerous machines wasn’t exactly anyone’s vision of strength. I was a shell of my former self, now battle-scarred and weary.

      The beeping noise from the heart monitor and the random pings and dings from the machines catapulted me backward to a place that was all too familiar -- the memories of spending time with my dad during the final hours of his life in a cardiac care unit. Ironically, it was the same type of unit I happened to be in. The first five years of my 30’s seemed to be a parade of trials and circumstances. The Grand Marshall had given the signal, and the steady stream of challenges crowded the main street of my life like floats and marching bands. Except, there was no ticker tape. No confetti floating in air; just my tears, doubts, and disappointments. As the warm, salty tears rolled down the sides of my face into my ears, I thought, God, is this all you have for me? A bunch of trials? Where are the victories? Ms. Jackson, it’s time! the nurse announced. My mom calmly stood from her chair and kissed me on the forehead before the nurses pushed my bed into the operating room. It took everything in me to not explode into a ball of emotions from the pain of going through a trial of a medical issue only two months after my father passed. At this point, I had nothing left to give. Not even to myself. I’ve been steadfast unmovable for so long that going through seemed to be a daily exercise routine. If God would have told me that my mountaintop would be beyond the surgery, the loss of my father, financial difficulty, broken relationships, and failure, I would never have left my childhood home to venture into the wilds of adulthood. But, victory’s mountaintop was there waiting for me in the distance. It was beyond the surgery, the recovery, the doubt, and the painful memories. It was there waiting for me.

      It was there. Waiting.

      JOURNEY PHASE 1

      ENTERING THE VALLEY

      THEN JACOB MADE A VOW, SAYING, IF GOD WILL BE WITH ME AND WILL KEEP ME ON THIS JOURNEY THAT I TAKE, AND WILL GIVE ME FOOD TO EAT AND GARMENTS TO WEAR, AND I RETURN TO MY FATHER’S HOUSE IN SAFETY, THEN THE LORD WILL BE MY GOD. (GENESIS 28:20-21 – NASB)

      The valley is a low, and sometimes, dry place. It can be the starting point or holding area before a destination. You often find yourself standing in a wide open space wondering, How on earth did I get here? You were doing so well with whatever required your daily attention at the time, and then -BAM! - a life changing event or a collection of words is hurled at you. Immediately you’re thrust into a place that is unfamiliar and lacks peace. You are uncovered and exposed to the elements. You run for cover, but there is none to be found. You try to open the now closed door where your former peace resided, but it’s locked. The road ahead is winding, the sky starts to get cloudy and the drizzle of the approaching storm starts. Where are you, God? you wonder. Did He step away from the control room?, Did He fall asleep on the job? No, He didn’t. He

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