Psalm 62: a sister's favourite

It saddens me to report that my beloved sister Pamela died in the early afternoon of tuesday, 28 July, after a two-year battle with cancer. Pam was an exceedingly kind and generous person who loved God with her whole being. She was a remarkable woman who ended her working life only recently at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Cal Tech. It would be difficult to recount in total all the good things she did for so many people, including family and friends. Our immediate family has several quilts she made for us. When the COVID pandemic started six years ago, she made masks for each of us and sent them by mail. 

Pam's favourite psalm was Psalm 62, a reference to which was in the number of her car's licence plate. Several years ago, I set this psalm to verse as part of my ongoing Niagara Psalter project and dedicated it to her.

The day after her passing, my wife and I joined our daughter and son-in-law in a family service of remembrance for Pam. We sang a metrical version of Psalm 62 (but from the Genevan Psalter using my own versification), Amazing Grace, and a couple of others, with our son-in-law Paul accompanying on piano. I read Psalm 62 from my Bible. We shared stories, wept some, and prayed together. It still seems so unreal, but we live and die in hope of the resurrection.

Incidentally, when I visited her two weekends ago, I noticed that she had David Taylor's book, Open and Unafraid, on a table in her living room. I was part of a small group at my church studying this book. Sad to say, I doubt she had a chance to read it, but she had lived her whole life in such a way as to affirm its central message.

Pam’s final words before her last breath, as reported by our niece: “Yes! Let’s go!”