Ahh, what a beautiful letter. I'm lucky that I'm old enough now to be able to look back and to see God's hand in the hardest of times. I can see how some terribly difficult times and horrible things produced good in me and I am so thankful for those times. I must say, I've never not felt his effect as Lewis suggests in this letter, that after a few glimpses he leaves us, to grow on our own. Maybe, I'm not that mature yet and still require some hand holding.
It reminds me of a little girl I teach in my 3rd & 4th grade church group. She and her mom are homeless sometimes and she has quite a few emotional difficulties. Last week she asked me why God doesn't answer her prayers. Why doesn't he speak to her. I knew no "pat" answer would do. I explained to her that God doesn't "speak" to us in a voice as we'd expect. At least not to all of us. That sometimes he speaks through a feeling of comfort, or a feeling that you should take a different path. Sometimes he speaks through another person. I explained that we go through hard times and it seems like God's not there, but that we will learn from the hard times and become stronger from them. Then I hugged her, for this girl lives in a trough.
So, what can we ask each other about this letter?
Perhaps, how can your relationship with God grow stronger when you are in a trough?
How do we define "trough" periods?
Can you look back and see different trough periods in your various interests?
When we're in the trough, we can remind ourselves that the peaks will come back. They usually do.
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