Anyway, back to lilies. They're my favorite. Especially a nice white oriental variety. I love them. So much so that I have two of them permanently engraved on my body. And my second child was almost Lily. But I really liked Evangeline and ... well... Lily Evangeline... I didn't want her to suffer the pain of thinking her mother was obsessed with Lost at the time she was born. Which I was, by the way. Watching six whole seasons of a show is no problem when you have to lay in the bed for a month. Anyway, they are just so beautiful. I think that's what draws me to them and to flowers in general, their beauty. And I was pondering the other day how many times they are mentioned in the bible even though I'm not sure that they were talking about the same lily that I'm thinking about.
Matthew 6:28-30
28And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin. 29Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence was not arrayed like one of these.
A great one. When I think of this, I wonder what would it to be like to be clothed in the beauty of Lily. Which makes me wonder if I could make a dress out of Lily petals...I still haven't come up with a way that would work. They bruise too easy. But my all time favorite lily bible verse is in Song of Solomon. And it's not the one about the Beloved browsing among the lilies. Side Note- I think that totally tells us something of God's character and his definition of intimacy that he would include such a book in the bible. Anyway, it's not that one, it's this one.
Song of Solomon 2:2
Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women.
Why I like this:
1) I think it is a beautiful analogy of someone who is able to thrive in adversity. If there's one thing I pray for myself and my girls and the woman in my life it's that we would offer beauty, something delicate, lovely and light, in the midst of the harsh and ugly and messy situations and world that we finds ourselves in. That we would be lilies among thorns. That we would not cower at the thorns pressing in around us but that we would bust out in blooming gloriousness.
2) It reminds me that good is good because of evil. The thorns enhance the beauty of the lily. The contrast magnifies the features of both. How much more beautiful is a lily because it is next to thorns.
3) This reminds me that a few thorns are good now and then. Even if I don't like them.
4) It reminds me not to judge a flower by it's bud. Lily buds are really tight little things. (I would post a picture. But I don't want to steal one. You'll have to google it.) But lily buds bloom open to become a huge bloom. I want that too. And this also reminds me that things are not always what they seem. There's always hope for great things.
Anyway, so now you know the depth of my love for lilies. May you all be holders and beholders of beauty. . . and lilies.
Wow! When did go and get all profound? It's just like they (the generic "they") say, "Still waters run deep." It's always the quiet ones that come out with the most profound, thought-provoking ideas (and, I'm not just saying that because I am a quiet one, too). You are a lily...a slightly quirky one (aren't we all?)...but a beautiful lily without a doubt. I know that C & E will grow into wonderful lilies, too. But, I can't help but also think of C. as some exotic, vibrant, bright red or pink flower...you'll have to figure out what kind of flower that is because my floral knowledge is very limited. E...what kind of flower is she? Something sweet and simple and lovely and rare. Now you have me labeling and categorizing everything...which is rather ironic since that is what I do all day at work. :-)
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