Worry Like a Lily

I’ve written about my great grandmother’s beautiful patch of tiger lilies before. I never had the chance to meet her, she was born in England in 1863. But the patch of bright orange lilies that popped up at the end of our family’s farm every June I remember well.

I can imagine all they lived through: hard freezes, rain and hail, droughts during the Indiana summers. They even survived when the old log cabin my great grandparents had once lived in burned down after standing vacant for years. When I was little, I knew there was something special about the flowers that had been planted around 1912 and were still popping up over 60 years later. They weathered, and remained.

The bible uses the beauty and strength of the lily to remind us not to worry:

And which of you by worrying can add a single day to his life’s span?  And why are you worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.  Matthew 6:27-29

It takes most of us a lifetime to master worry. Some struggle more than others, but worry tends to creep into everyone’s life. We can take comfort in knowing that God is always there, waiting to reassure us and give us the peace of Christ when we look to Him in our times of concern. Remember the example of the lily that comes back as beautiful and strong as ever each summer, no concern with what surrounds it. As your faith grows, you will find yourself worrying less.