Christianity Oasis Forum

[Angelwings]

MAGNOLIAS............

I spent the week before my daughter's June wedding running last-minute
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
a 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
bridesmaids helped Patsy to dress, her fiance 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
wore-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.'

If you have missed knowing me, you have missed nothing.
If you have missed some of my emails, you may have missed
a laugh. But, if you have missed knowing my LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS
CHRIST, you have missed everything in the world.

May God's blessings be upon you.
THIS IS SO TRUE, BEING NEEDED IS SO UPLIFTING TO EACH OF US.