Turn Your Valley of Tears Into A Place of Springs

"As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; 

the early rain also covers it with pools" (Psalm 84:6).

As I read that verse I wondered where the Valley of Baca was. A quick search revealed that this valley is unknown. It is rather symbolical, because the verb Bacah means to weep in Hebrew. The noun בכא - Baka means a balsam tree, a tree that grows in dry places and seems to weep (2 Samuel 5:23-24; 1 Chronicles 14:14-15). The Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, translates it as the Valley of Weeping (κλαυθμῶνος).

In all cases the words suggest that the pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem were filled with anticipation and joy. These feelings turned even the dry, desert valleys into places of joy comparable to what arises in our hearts when springtime returns and the early rains begin again. 

This brings to mind the familiar image of the valley of the shadow of death in David's psalm (Psalm 23:4). It also serves to remind us that we are all on a pilgrimage journey through the valley of tears and the shadow of death. But we have a certain goal. We move through this valley. At the other end the new Jerusalem awaits. In it is the Father's house where we will dwell in peace, hope and joy forever. All this is possible because of Christ who has cleared for us a way by the cross. He is, in fact, the way (John 14:1-6). 

Join me in this Lenten season, symbolical of our own valleys of tears and suffering. The Festival of the Resurrection awaits. In faith we shall turn this valley into a place of springs, springtime and new life.