Saturday, October 5, 2019           

Today’s Scripture Reading  |  Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
   from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
   who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
   he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
   the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
   nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
   he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
   your going out and your coming in
from this time on and forevermore. (NRSV)

Reflection
This past summer, my family gathered for a reunion at a cabin in the Smokey Mountains. There were twenty-three of us gathered, including four kids under the age of four: glorious chaos. One night my cousin and I went out for an adventure and discovered a place where we could take a chair lift to the top of a mountain. After a short hike up the hill, through a freshly planted garden, we found a secluded spot where we had spectacular views of the sunset. The next night we returned to our secret spot on the hilltop for another amazing natural show.

As I read the psalm, I am reminded of how everything else melted away as I sat on the grass watching the colors change and the mountains around us glow in the setting sun. Sometimes as I rush around the city, I long to go back to the mountaintop. But this psalm is a reminder that our help doesn’t come from the mountains; it comes from the creator of those mountains, who is the creator of all things. I don’t need to be on vacation, on top of a mountain, to be close to God. God is with me—in the chaos of four kids under four, in my overcrowded bus on the way to work, or as I sit here writing this devotional. I may want the majesty of the mountaintop moments, but there is a certain majesty in the everyday, too.

Prayer
Remind me, God, that you are with me. Even when life is busy and chaotic. Even when I don’t take the time to notice. Thank you for the mountaintop moments, and help me to appreciate the moments in between. Amen.

Written by Katie Patterson, Youth Ministry Program Manager

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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