Day 26 Summer Psalms 126-130

I was raised in a large Catholic family of six children. In the small rural town where I grew up, my paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all lived within blocks or only a few short miles away. In fact, almost every person in the town could be identified somewhere on our family tree. As my father never dedicated himself to anything more than the bottle and women, my mother and oldest sibling shouldered our upbringing; but living in a town where any one of our relatives minded our business was a help, too. Thanks to a whole village looking out for us, my brother, four sisters, and I are now responsible and hardworking adults with families of our own. I never realized then how lucky we were in having so many surrugate parents and family members. As a child I thought of them as spies and snoops. It wasn't until I grew much older that I began to understand the blessings that I had been given, a well-spring of family and friends.

In Psalm 126, a continuation of the "Psalms of ascension", the Jews are praising the Lord for restoring their fortunes.  Have you ever had a prized possession given or returned to you? Think about how it feels! When the Lord returned to the Jews their wealth, they were filled with laughter and shouted for joy. This reminds me of when my children come home for visits, how elated I am. My treasure is my family and when they return, I revel in my blessings. In Psalm 127:3 it says, "Children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward."

Unlike my mother and father and their parents, I did not continue the tradition of a large Catholic family, but so often when I see a brood of kids trailing behind a mother and father at church, a shopping center, or a park for instance; I smile and have to stop them and remark on how lucky they are. In Psalm 127:4 it states, "Like arrows in the hand of a a warrior are the sons of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them!" Large families are a wonderful thing. I didn't think so at the time I was growing up in one, but now I appreciate my fortune; I wish I would have built a larger family of my own. In Psalm 128, children are equivalent to prosperity. Verse 3 reads, "Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table." On those rare occasions when I have my family all around me, I praise God for the blessing. Only a few years ago when we were all together celebrating around our dining room table, I remember thinking, "My cup runneth over; I'll never be as rich as I am today."  The warmth, love, and laughter in our home at that moment was so powerful, it could have burst through the roof.

The last verse of Psalm 128 identifies another valuable fortune, "May you see your children's children." Recently, I was thinking about how young my grandmother was when I was born. She was 43 and at 43, I was already her fourth grandchild. At 53, I'm now ten years older than my grandmother's age at my birth, and there are no signs of grandchildren anytime in my near future. The wealth I was given in family as a child is not building interest. While I am so touched by the families that I see together around our community and places I visit; I am at the same time filled with regret that they can not look upon me in the same way.  I imagine their whispers as in Psalm 129: 7-8, "Those who pass by do not say, 'The blessing of the Lord be upon you!'" It is ridiculous, I know, my interpretation of this psalm is blatantly out of context; it is intended for those who have denied God. The unbelievers are the ones who have no true blessings.

So there is hope, and as proclaimed in Psalm 130:5 "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope." My riches are here and now, abundant and plentiful, as I stated my numerous blessings in earlier blogs. God wants us to be always joyful  and trusting in his steadfast love. For in Him is our fortune, our everlasting treasure.