Mrs. Minnie Bell Merritt Stoltz (1893-1982) and Mrs. Ruby Wilson (1905-1979)….these are the names of two wonderful women who were once part of the community of Rural Hall, North Carolina, my hometown. They have long since departed this world and rest in the arms of their Lord and Savior. Minnie Bell was my grandmother and I miss her presence more than I can say.Ms. Ruby, as she was referred to by everyone except family, and Minnie were charter members of the Rural Hall Moravian Church. They were women of faith, dedicated to their Lord and their families.
Shortly before my grandmother’s passing, she handed me a devotional book that had been a gift to her from Ms. Ruby entitled “I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes”. The title, of course, was from the 121st Psalm. She explained that it was her wish for me to have this book. Just inside the cover she inscribed, “A gift from Mrs. Ruby Wilson to Mrs. Minnie M. Stoltz. I want my granddaughter, Linda Montgomery, to have this book”. On page 28 is Psalm 121: 1-3, 5-8 and right above the beginning of the verses my grandmother wrote, “Read this when you are blue”; she placed a crocheted cross to mark the page.
The 121st Psalm was one of my grandmother’s favorite bible verses, and it is also one of mine. It reminds us that God is always with us, and will never desert us.
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,
from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord, which made
heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
He that keepeth thee will not slumber…..
The Lord shall preserve thee from all
evil: He shall preserve thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out
and thy coming in from this time forth, and
even for evermore.
Psalm 121: 1-3, 5-8
I keep the book at my bedside, remembering a grandmother’s love and mine for her.
Linda S. Montgomery
