SFPNN Special Edition –
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— Thanks to Wanni S. for today's Special Edition
MAGNOLIAS
By Edna Ellison
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 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
The big day arrived - the
busiest day of my life - and while her bridesmaids 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 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.
— © Edna Ellison
"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."
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