“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” Isaiah 49:15
Some of the plants in the yard look pretty thirsty, but not the butterfly bushes. Those babies have taken off. As a first-time butterfly bush owner, I planted it on the advice of a friend, and had no idea what to expect. The fragrance is amazing. The winged visitors seem to enjoy it even more that I do. There are the butterflies, of course, Tiger Swallowtails, Monarchs, and others I have yet to identify, along with hummingbirds and bees.
I also didn’t expect the appearance of the Easter Lily that emerged from the butterfly bush. That lily had graced our empty sanctuary on Easter Sunday, 2020, just three weeks after the COVID19 lockdown. Naively, I believed we’d be back in church by that Easter Sunday.
I planted the bulb in my garden a few weeks later, in mid-April, 2020. By the time I planted the butterfly bush last fall in the same area, the bulb was covered by soil. Out of sight, out of mind. I forgot about it, but apparently that didn’t matter to the lily.
There was something immensely comforting in that forgotten lily growing despite my forgetfulness. If a lily can survive my neglect and still grow, then surely the One who created all things is present even when I am neglectful of God.
God doesn’t forget us! ~ Anne
Wayfinding 