Many years ago I found myself besieged with problems, challenges, and setbacks from a wide variety of sources. Some of the circumstances were outside my realm of control, and others were directly caused by misjudgment on my part. During that time I felt as if I had wandered into the “valley of the shadows,” and the smallest light of hope was nowhere to be seen. Life lost its luster; the beauty of nature became tarnished; and any sense of satisfaction and fulfillment vanished. It was a difficult period in my life.