“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:2 CSB
This entire Psalm was my Mom’s and my Aunt Margie’s favorite Psalm, at least that’s what they told me. My Aunt Margie was my favorite aunt. I loved her more than my Mom at times. When I was a teenager and Mom wouldn’t let me do what I wanted to do, I told her I hated her. I was that much of a brat. But Aunt Margie loved me, even when I was being a brat (and so did my Mom). Today is her birthday in heaven, tomorrow is the anniversary of when I met my husband. I always think, “He’s Aunt Margie’s gift to me from heaven.” I’m dedicating today’s devotional to her. The impact she had on my life is too great to not share her with you. Each year as I get older, things she told me that didn’t make sense then are now beginning to make sense. I’m beginning to understand what she was trying to tell me.
I understand some of the deep pain my Aunt Margie endured during her lifetime. Before I was even born, her father died unexpectedly, she lost a child, and 2 of her siblings had died. I was barely four years old when she lost another brother to cancer. I’m beginning to understand the deep faith that she had. A faith she lived more than she preached. My Aunt Margie loved like Jesus. She always had a warm hug to greet you. The first thing she would start doing is whipping up something good to eat, it typically included lots of butter and pepper. Then we would sit at her table and talk. I would unload whatever the major problem was in my life and she would coach me through it. Aunt Margie didn’t hold punches, she told you like it was. If you went to her for advice, you got advice. What she had to say might not be what you want to hear, but it was always good. She was also good at just listening if that was all you needed. I don’t ever remember Aunt Margie preaching to me or trying to tell me what to do. I just remember her loving me to the best of her ability. She was an amazing woman, who lived an incredible life filled with a faith that is rare. Her strength in the face of adversity is undescribable. She wasn’t perfect, no one is, but she was perfect to me.
I now think I know why Psalm 121 was read at both my Mom and Aunt Margie’s funerals. They both truly did get their strength from the Lord. He was their help in time of need, He was their hope in time of mourning, He was their guiding light in the darkness of life. Read the words yourself, see if they don’t give you strength:
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore
