Before the flood, my valley was beautiful.Then the rains began, harder than they ever had before.The waters rose quickly, and I could barely hold my own against the rush.The flood raged and swept me away. I flailed to keep my head above the surface and began to despair of life.Miraculously, I was swept against a staircase that rose from the flood. I had just enough strength to climb the slippery steps.Somehow I reached the top — and the rain had stopped. The sun just began to show through the clouds, and I felt that I could rest. Surely the worst was over.As the floodwaters receded, I descended the stairs. I was grieved to find that everything beautiful in my valley was dead and decaying.Worse, everywhere lay jagged piles of debris that scratched and poked me if I got too close. I grieved the valley I had once known, realizing that it was gone forever.After I wept, I began to look around me and see that life was starting to return. Even in the wreckage and rot, there was beauty to be found. I began to accept the new normal of my valley, and accepted the task of tending and nurturing it for the next season.
