Never Alone in the Waiting

“I lift my eyes to the mountains-where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Psalm 121:1-2 NIV

I returned the paperwork to the admissions desk and sunk back into the waiting room chair.

“It’s a lot of paperwork here,” a lady said, not missing a stitch on the blanket she was knitting. I complemented her work. “It’s for my daughter. She has small kids--my only grands. I say a prayer with each stitch,” she added, choking back a tear.

“Ready mom?” a lady said as she made her way toward us. The young woman, wearing a bright- colored scarf over her bald head, greeted me as her mother gathered up her knitting. Saying goodbye to the two women, I watched as they disappeared into the parking lot.

I reached into my purse for my little devotional book. I opened it to Psalm 121. I thought about how often I had read that passage and how it has become my go-to in waiting rooms.

As I read the first verse, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from?” I felt the weight of the valley crushing in. The valley of fear, worry, and grief. The second verse, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth,” reminds us that God is still on the throne – no matter what struggles we face. It is through the waiting that God is preparing the way, and us, for the journey.

God’s love is like a blanket--a cover to calm, warm and protect you as go through your season of waiting. As I thought about that I smiled, imagining our Savior wrapping His arms around us much like that lady will one day do with the blanket her mother was lovingly knitting. Each stitch linked by a prayer to the One who through His loving act gave His life so that we may have Eternal life.

Mitzie Avera