Tears, Trials, and Triumphs: God’s Hand in Every Valley and Mountaintop
By Brandy Grillo
God was with me in the low places — when faith felt quiet and dreams were buried deep — from brokenness to becoming a published author. I was chosen before I even knew Jesus. I had a dream as a young girl to be on stage, to perform — then I found writing. It became my platform. The pen dripped my imagination, making the pages dance and come alive with my emotions, my realities, and my dreams.
Life has a way of shifting you when you are not grounded in a firm foundation, my dear reader — and that is what happened to me. Those dreams evaporated, and the vision became dark. The stage I once dreamed of became a survival tool that twisted my reality and deceived me about who I was. It stripped me of my childhood dreams, raged against the light inside of me, and tore me into pieces. That’s when God stepped in, and His favor began to drip into my redemption story.
In September of this year, I became a number-one best-selling author of my memoir, Addicted to Pain, My Life, Your Story: From a Broken Girl to a Healing Woman, on Amazon. Huge milestone, right? It took me five years to actually write it and then hand it over to two editors I had only met once before — practically strangers who later became friends. After another year and a half in editing, this baby was finally born.
I was chosen for this, as I’ve mentioned before. But let me tell you about the war that came once I realized I was chosen and accepted the assignment God presented to me — the enemy tried to take me out more than once.
The valley was where I started toward the mountain of becoming a published author. In those shadowed places, all I had was a word from God, my dream, pen, paper, laptop, and memories. Writing this book was a kind of emotional archaeology — digging through memories, pain, and redemption to uncover the truth God wanted told.
I faced setback after setback: health battles, housing struggles, tragedy, and moments when I had to pause to process what I was uncovering. Yet every time I thought I’d reached the end, God reminded me that His hand was still guiding the pen.
Throughout my writing journey, I noticed a strange rhythm: I’d feel like I was finally on the victory height — full of peace and progress — and then suddenly find myself back in the wilderness, wrestling with pain or uncertainty again. This was an internal battle for me because walking by faith, not by sight, goes against what I feel, see, or understand.
I began to see that the valley and the mountaintop weren’t destinations — they were reflections of my soul. My heart could rise and fall in the same breath, yet God remained steady through it all.
While my feelings kept changing, I realized the humanness of me and the holiness of God. I am allowed to feel multiple emotions about the same situation — grateful and disappointed, hopeful and exhausted, excited and terrified — because complexity isn’t confusion; it’s human.
The holiness of God is unwavering. When God says, “My word will not return to Me void” (Isaiah 55:11), He’s saying that everything He speaks has purpose, power, and a guaranteed outcome — no matter how many times I changed my word. The faithfulness of God is that nothing He promises is wasted; every word has eternal weight and will bear fruit, even if it looks delayed or rerouted.
I came to see God as the ultimate Seeker — the One who never stopped pursuing me, even when I was running, doubting, or breaking. He met me in every rise and fall, in every breakthrough point and dark stretch. Nothing I faced ever surprised Him; He simply kept inviting me to trust that His love would find me every time.
On the peaks of breakthroughs, miracles, healing, forgiveness, milestones, achievements — and, well, the finish line — there was something extraordinary when I looked back at the low places I had traveled. Not every valley was the same: some were meant to break me gracefully, others were for me to overcome. Not every tear represented sadness or trauma; there was a reckoning of what I had been through and who I am now — a realization of overcoming and becoming.
As I look over my journey, I see that my book wasn’t just something I wrote — it’s something God and I lived. Every quiet depth shaped the words; every sacred rise revealed His glory. The mountaintop used to mean success or completion, but now it has a deeper meaning: it’s knowing that I was obedient to my Heavenly Father and that He will get the glory from my obedience.
I’ve learned that the valley is where intimacy with God begins — where connection is forged to carry us to the mountaintop with Him. There is always purpose when God is leading you.
I was chosen long before I ever held that book in my hands, and now I know the same God who met me in the ground of growth is the same God who lifted me to the place of completion. He was faithful through it all. I don’t know exactly what’s next, but I look forward with faith, knowing God is still writing the chapters ahead.
If there’s anything I hope you take from my story, it’s this: the same God who met me in the valley is the same God who celebrated with me on the mountain. Take a moment to sit with that truth — that God is present in every high and low, shaping, guiding, and redeeming.
Where is God asking you to trust Him in your valley or climb?
What lessons might He be teaching you in your own waiting place?
How have your valleys prepared you for the mountaintops ahead?
He is faithful through it all and is still writing your story too. Keep walking, keep trusting, and watch how He turns your valleys into victory — your mountaintop is coming.
