The following is a song written by Tommy Dorsey in 1939. The words to that song have stayed with me ever since I first heard it. Matter of fact, in my early days of learning how to play the guitar, it was one of the first songs I learned, along with my ol’ gospel songs, “Just a closer walk with thee,” etc. (and Elvis, Buddy Holly, plus many more). If I recall, it went something like this: “Oh well, I’m tired and so weary, but I must go alone till the Lord comes and calls, calls me away. … And the beasts from the wild shall be led by a child. … (Chorus) There will be peace in the valley for me someday, there will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray. …”
The writer of that song never once mentioned (wrote about) the new car he would have, a new carpet in his blessed small home, nor his last trip to the Caribbean. His mind was on greater things. He cherished the thought of peace—yes, peace in the valley. In my comprehension, the valley includes every inch of this globe. He was thinking big. Maybe, now and then, glimpses of his mansion in the sky were entering his mind also.
I have to believe in the days of peace we have seen in our lives, in those quiet moments of watching a small stream trickle down a mountainside, taking all the time it needed; or sitting strapped into seat of a 747 plane on a work mission, waiting to see the blue sky, after a time of only seeing the clouds we were in. The thoughts of peace are crowded with things such as: calmness; life is good; worries are something of the past; quietness; not a leaf on the trees moving; looking at the water in a creek that was more like a mirror; the field of grain ‘standing still.’ Plus the word “peace” is bowing its head in humble prayer.
Peace in the valley or a valley of peace is always welcomed (even in thought). Reality is here.
By Robert D. Anderson
Fruit of The Spirit- Garden 