Walking and running

I have walked and I have run
I have played beneath the sun
I have cried between the waves
And I have been lifted up by Him who saves.

My path has not been in the valleys below
Where all is peaceful and quiet waters flow
My path has been through the high mountain peaks
Where rocks are stark and the horizon bleak.

I've walked in hidden valleys and I've run in the rain
I've sought His face again and again
And on the path that He's brought me I've walked without fear
Knowing He holds me in every year. 

Treasures are scare, precious, sometimes few
The face of a flower lifted and new
The people of pain and promise I meet
The ones for whom I can wash their sore feet. 

This is my path and He is my all
Heaven is watching and though I may fall
My God lifts me up and we will go higher
For He is my reward and my deep one desire. 

(For my dear friend Deb, who runs and walks in the hard-to-reach places of great beauty, love and pain: with healing in her hands and wisdom on her lips. Happy birthday, woman loved by your God.)