Dear Friend,
The Lord has amazing ways of using us for His purposes if
only we make ourselves available to Him. Many times we
have our own thoughts of how God can use us, but if we
change our thinking and allow God to do as He pleases, the
Lord will do extraordinary things with the most ordinary of
people. I am a living witness to this fact.
(1 Corinthians 1:25-29)
I encourage you to make yourself available to be used of the
Lord. God is infinite in His wisdom and unchanging in
His love so you trust Him to lead you onto the best path for
your life. The Lord is seeking surrendered vessels so
you be encouraged and allow Him to bring greatness from your
vessel.
I hope this message encourages your heart to seek the Lord’s
will for your life and allow Him to use you all the days of
your life. You truly haven't lived until you've lived
for the Lord.
MAGNOLIA
I spent the week before my daughter's June wedding running
my final trips to the caterer, florist, tuxedo shop, and the
church about forty miles away. As happy as I was that
Patsy was marrying a good Christian young man, I felt laden
with responsibilities as I watched my budget dwindle... so
many details, so many bills and so little time. My son
Jack was away at college, but he said he would be there to
walk his younger sister down the aisle, taking the place of
his dad who had died a few years before. He teased Patsy,
saying he'd wanted to give her away since she was about
three years old!
To save money, I gathered blossoms from several friends who
had large magnolia trees. Their luscious, creamy-white
blooms and slick green leaves would make beautiful
arrangements against the rich dark wood inside the church.
After the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, we
banked the podium area and choir loft with magnolias.
As we left just before midnight, I felt tired but satisfied
this would be the best wedding any bride had ever had!
The music, the ceremony, the reception - and especially the
flowers - would be remembered for years.
The big day arrived - the busiest day of my life - and while
her bride’s maids helped Patsy to dress, her fiancé Tim,
walked with me to the sanctuary to do a final check.
When we opened the door and felt a rush of hot air, I almost
fainted; and then I saw them - all the beautiful white
flowers were black. Funeral black. An electrical storm
during the night had knocked out the air conditioning
system, and on that hot summer day, the flowers had wilted
and died.
I panicked, knowing I didn't have time to drive back to our
hometown, gather more flowers, and return in time for the
wedding. Tim turned to me. “Edna, can you get more
flowers? I'll throw away these dead ones and put fresh
flowers in these arrangements.”
I mumbled, “Sure,” as he be-bopped down the hall to put on
his cuff links. Alone in the large sanctuary, I looked
up at the dark wooden beams in the arched ceiling.
“Lord,” I prayed, “please help me. I don't know anyone
in this town. Help me find someone willing to give me
flowers - in a hurry!”
I scurried out praying for four things: the blessing of
white magnolias, courage to find them in an unfamiliar yard,
safety from any dog that may bite my leg, and a nice person
who would not get out a shotgun when I asked to cut his tree
to shreds. As I left the church, I saw magnolia trees
in the distance. I approached a house...no dog in
sight. I knocked on the door and an older man
answered. So far so good...no shotgun.
When I stated my plea the man beamed, “I'd be happy to!”
He climbed a stepladder and cut large boughs and handed them
down to me.
Minutes later, as I lifted the last armload into my car
trunk, I said, “Sir, you've made the mother of a bride happy
today.”
“No, Ma'am,” he said. “You don't understand what's happening
here.”
“What?” I asked.
“You see, my wife of sixty-seven years died on Monday.
On Tuesday I received friends at the funeral home, and on
Wednesday.” He paused. I saw tears welling
up in his eyes. “On Wednesday I buried her.” He
looked away. “On Thursday most of my out-of-town
relatives went back home, and on Friday - yesterday - my
children left.”
I nodded.
“This morning,” he continued, “I was sitting in my den
crying out loud. I miss her so much. For the last
sixteen years, as her health got worse, she needed me.
But now nobody needs me. This morning I cried, 'Who
needs an eighty-six-year-old worn-out man? Nobody!"
I began to cry louder.
"Nobody needs me!' About that time, you knocked, and
said, “'Sir, I need you.'”
I stood with my mouth open.
He asked, “Are you an angel? The way the light shone
around your head into my dark living room”
I assured him I was no angel.
He smiled. “Do you know what I was thinking when I handed
you those magnolias?”
“No.”
“I decided I'm needed. My flowers are needed. Why, I
might have a flower ministry! I could give them to
everyone! Some caskets at the funeral home have no
flowers. People need flowers at times like that and I
have lots of them. They're all over the backyard.
I can give them to hospitals, churches - all sorts of
places. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to
serve the Lord until the day He calls me home!”
I drove back to the church, filled with wonder. On
Patsy's wedding day, if anyone had asked me to encourage
someone who was hurting, I would have said, “Forget it!
It's my only daughter's wedding, for goodness' sake!
There is no way I can minister to anyone today.”
But God found a way. Through dead flowers.
“Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it
is. The way you cope with it is what makes the
difference.”
By Edna Ellison
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry
http://www.Godswork.org
