Day Lilies Planted Fifty Years Ago

The Life of a Day Lily

                Both of my grandmothers grew day lilies in their flowerbeds. They seemed to thrive on tending their perrenials. I haven’t inherited a green thumb from either of them, but I can appreciate the beauty of flowers.

Last year, my brother-in-law took care to transplant the day lilies from the area where my maternal grandmother, Gladys Vivian Rainey Smith, had planted them over fifty years ago. He worked the soil and then put down wood chips in an attempt to ease the demand in caring for the flowerbeds. His effort certainly paid off for me since the bulk of my time is in caring for my elderly father. So this summer I took special notice of the day lilies as they bloomed.

One of my maternal grandmother's day lilies
 blooming.

              I grabbed my camera and photographed some of them as they bloomed. The next morning when I passed the bed where the day lilies had been transplanted, I noticed that the gorgeous flower I had photographed the day before was in a wilted state. 

Notice the wilted day lily in the background. 

 Instantly, scriptures popped into my mind. The passage in Psalm 103:15-16 states, As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more.

                Even with the impact of medical research and the lengthening of life expectancy, the life span of a human seems brief. My father who recently celebrated his 96^th birthday, asked my mother when he was in his early 90s, “Where have all the years gone?”

                No matter how long we live, after just a few years of living, the rapidity with which life steamrolls along, leaves us dizzy from the ride. Sometimes years feel more like seconds.

                The day lilies blooming, living, and dying afforded a stark picture of life.  As the Bible says, the brevity of life is illustrated with the short existence of the grass. In Psalm  90:5 written by Moses, we read, “In the morning they are like grass which grows up: In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down and withers.

                Coupled with the difficulties and trials of life, the blatant truth is recorded in Job 14:1-2, Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away;

                That passage oozes with despair and a fatalistic tone, describing precisely what I witnessed from the day lilies. However, God did not intend it that way. It was an admonishment to live with the end in mind. In fact, Moses also wrote in Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

                When we see a beautifully exquisite flower designed by our Creator, we realize that we have only today to live God’s purpose for us, fulfilling His desire for our lives. Yet when we glance and view the sadly wilted day lily blossom, let us see it as a reminder from nature that our lives will someday end.   

The pertinent question becomes, “How do we do that?” In all honesty, all humans are in rebellion on some level.  The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is desperately wicked. Who can know it?” (Jeremiah   17: 9)

For this reason, Jesus came as the sacrifice for our rebellion. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6)

Once I had someone indicate that what she needed most was knowing what God’s will was for her. In John’s gospel, Jesus gave the insight to knowing God’s will. “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40)

At this point, the comparison with my grandmas’ day lilies breaks down, because for humans, Jesus reminded Martha that whoever believes in Him will rise again. Then He specifically asked her about her own belief system.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

If we have that life-altering belief about which Jesus questioned Martha, then we should follow Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 4:23. “Be made new in the attitude of your minds.”

Let’s bloom and flourish as the beautiful day lilies, allowing His attitude to permeate our interactions, knowing our days are brief on the earth, with eternal life promised to us who have their belief, not in what we can accomplish, but in the sacrifice He gave for us.