he sound jolted me awake. I turned over and fumbled for the lighted device on the table by my bed. As I squinted and tried to focus my eyes, I could see the familiar phone number on the screen. I whispered the prayer again, “Lord, help us handle whatever it is this time.” The phone or the prayer or both woke my husband.  As he sat up in bed I said, “If she’s okay, I’ll be back in a while… or call you if you need to come over.”

My sister Di, who is no less than a saint, had been our aging mom’s caretaker for many years.  As of late, Di often called me in the middle of the night that Mom had made a downturn in one way or another. Mom was a cancer survivor and a heart attack survivor. But she had been having some small strokes the last few months and her increasing weakness had just about her taken all her mobility away. Tonight, like many other nights, Mom’s breathing was shallow and labored, her oxygen levels too low. Sometimes it was her blood pressure that had dropped to a dangerous level or some other serious malady.

Each time I would throw on some clothes and drive across town to see how I could help.

God of the Valleys

As I drove, I prayed. I turned on the radio. Music has always been a go-to for me – happy or sad. Music causes me to reflect or adjust my mind and my mood to a more long-term perspective. Tonight, reaching for the dial like a conditioned response, I was mostly hoping for a distraction to calm my racing mind. I listened, somewhat hoping to find courage to face whatever might lay ahead. We both knew that one of the times when Di called me to come over would likely be the last time she called me to help with Mom.

In the anxious middle of the night drives during Mom’s last year, more times than not, one particular song would come on the radio. Hearing it for the first time, I didn’t realize “Hills and Valleys” by Tauren Wells would become a sort of theme song for me.  I took in the words like a breath. “I’ve walked among the shadows. You wiped my tears away. And I’ve felt the pain of heartbreak… ”

As I listened, tears trickled over my lashes and slid down my cheeks. I prayed that Mom was not in pain. I prayed that she would not be scared. I was so thankful that she loved God.

God would wipe away our tears.

God of the Hilltops

I believe we live, or at least that we should live, all our lives for the very life-and-death moment — the moment of passing from this temporary life to next life — eternal life. If our journey has be intentional and deliberately lived by faith, when we get to that point in time, it is sad for the parting, but it is glorious for what we believe lies ahead. And even while believing, the moment is sobering as the truth of the temporary parting collides with the reality of eternal existence.

The scene played out several times through the following months. So many times “Hills and Valleys” played through the speakers while I drove to the house where I was raised to sit by the bed of the one who had raised me. The words focused my mind on God and wrapped my fears in a blanket of comfort, reminding me of all things good that He provides regardless of the situations we face.

Mom peacefully passed away a few months later. She didn’t suffer or have great travail. She was at home, surrounded by her children and her grandchildren. It was a beautiful and blessed time for us as a family to share in her departure from this world just as she had shared in each one of our arrivals into this world. As we walked through that particular valley together hand-in-hand, our hearts were unified by faith in the God of our salvation. We ended Mom’s journey, standing beside her bed, faithfully singing another song – a hymn of praise that, like “Hills and Valleys,” reminded us of God’s presence and provision, “It is Well with My Soul.”

To this day, when I hear “Hills and Valleys” I warmly remember that special time of caring for Mom and loving her through her struggle. I am reminded of God’s love and care, not just during that time, but His presence through all of the hilltops and heartaches we shared as a family. I am thankful for a mother who taught us to trust God and express our gratitude to Him in all situations. And I’m thankful for the musical talents of Tauren Wells, whose song brought comfort to my soul then, and now.

God is truly a God of the hills and the valleys, and we are not alone.

Follow Tauren Wells on YouTube. He will bless your soul.

The full acoustic version of “Hills and Valleys” by Tauren Wells.

Tauren Wells sharing the story behind “Hills and Valleys”.

Hills and Valleys