I Lift My Eyes Toward the Hills

Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills- 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 you coming and going both now and forevermore.

_____________________

In the past couple weeks I've watched a lot change around me. Right outside the weather is different- getting cooler, leaves falling, darker earlier, and at least ten minutes of rain Friday (the first rain we've seen in four months...that's another blog).

But I've also stood here while lives around me changed. In just a couple weeks, one friend's job status is changing- in turn, changing the family's future. Another friend lost a parent- and a family dynamic is altered. A third friend's diagnosis from a doctor has changed her health and made her fragile. A normal up-beat, optimist is now wondering if the glass was really half full.

If you know me, you know change is not something I can neccessarily deal with easily. Come on, I never moved until I left for college. Scott will tell you that big changes are easier for me to digest, but it's all the little changes that go along with it that crush me. I may not fall apart over the big ones because that is easier for me to say "it's God's plan." But, it's the small, day to day changes in my routine that throw me off.

About a year ago I vowed to go wherever God sent us. I laugh now. 3,000 miles away is a big change. Just over a year ago I was in the Beth Moore Bible study The Psalms of Asscent. Psalm 121 was one key Psalm we memorized from that study. Ancient Jews would travel to Jerusualm three times a year, and as they traveled and asscended into Jerusalm, they sang these very words.

God has a way of bringing things back up in our lives when we need them. And, when we see them again, we can't figure out for the life of us why we didn't think of that ourselves! That happened to me Sunday, sitting in church. Leonard actually spoke on this Psalm, and I sat there, wondering "why on earth did I not think to go back to this? I know this verse!"

In the past couple of weeks, as seasons of lives changed around me, I felt helpless. I couldn't assure my friend with plans, comfort a friend who was hurting, or heal any disease. But, I could find reassurance in the only place possible. My Lord. And, just when I needed to be reminded, he piped up and spoke.

I know that my help comes from the Lord and He is watching over my life. I know He does this for everyone of us. It's just like us humans to forget from time to time.