My Hills

by Sarah R. Nettleton

Psalm 121:1-2

“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.”

This passage of scripture is very meaningful to me. Whenever I need comfort or assurance, I turn to this psalm; the psalmist reminds me that I am not alone.

I don’t remember when I first heard this psalm and I guess that doesn’t matter. Some people have great life-changing experiences with certain scriptures. In this case, Psalm 121 and I are old friends who have been connected for ages. When I was a teenager, several school years were very difficult. There were certain teachers and administrative staff who did not share the same vision of my life and goals that my parents and I shared. They did not see the possibilities I could attain when provided with the modifications and supports I needed to achieve my goals. If you are familiar with “the dementors” from Harry Potter, that was what school was like for me. All the joy of learning and dreams for the future were sucked out of my life. No amount of advocacy by my parents or my professional advocate friends helped change the situation. We finally gave up and I changed programs mid-year. After awhile it became evident that “dementors” were in the new program too.

Many nights during those years of school with “dementors,” I asked my mom to read me Psalm 121 before I went to sleep. The image of looking to the hills for help comforted me and allowed me to face the next day. Each morning as I rode the bus into school, we would drive up and down several hills. It was comforting to be reminded of my help coming from God as I traveled to school.

Things eventually got better. I found an advocate within the new school who recognized my dreams and who supported my parents’ vision for me. With her help I moved again to a new class in yet another school. It was a long process but worthwhile in the end. My new bus route took some of the same hills as the old routes and some new hills as well. I was pleased to have the hills to remind me that my strength does come from the Lord who made heaven and earth.