God in the lilacs

We were allowed to be a part of God's plan this week. The circumstances are very sad, but the working of God is really cool.

Two of our very closest friends are Jeremy and Shelley. They host our home group each Thursday night. Shelley is very close to her grandmother who has been fighting cancer for some time now. Early this morning, we received the news that she has gone to be with the Lord. The many months of this process has been very difficult for Shelley, and it has been tough for us to watch her feel so distraught.

On Thursday afternoon, I worked in Julian. If you don't know about Julian, it is our local mountain community. The town is at about 4000 feet and it gets some snow in the wintertime. It is known for its apple orchards, apple pies, and gold mines. The main street of Julian features many homes built in the late 1800's (which by Southern CA standards is practically prehistoric).

I met with a client at her office before we went out to photograph a home. She had a 5 gallon pail of lilacs by the front door, and I asked her about them. "They are for sale. I am trying to raise money for my daughter's athletic team trip to Las Vegas," I was told. I thought I would try to purchase a sprig or two to bring home to Jenetta. We had lilacs growing in our yard in Minnesota, and I remember my dad cutting them and bringing them into the home. Well, my client didn't really want to sell just a bit. She wanted to sell the whole bucket for $15. I felt that was too much for a whim, so I declined. "OK," she said, "I'll give them to you for $5." So I wrapped up the whole bucket's worth of purple flowers and we headed out. As I was driving home, I wondered what I was going to do with that many bunches of lilacs.

Here is where God's plan comes in.

On the way down the hill, I thought of Shelley. She and her family lived in Julian for a time when she was a little girl. I thought she might appreciate having some of them as it would remind her of home. Jenetta cut some and put them in a vase for us to bring to home group.

We didn't even see Shelley that night at her home because we later found out that her grandmother was very near to passing on. At that time, they felt it was only a matter of hours. It turned out to be two more days. During this time, Shelley's family has been very close together. They have been singing hymns and praying together at her grandmother's side.

I don't know the whole story, but what I have been told is that they were talking about lilacs and how it was her grandmothers favorite flower. (The funeral flower arrangements are all going to be lilacs.) They were saying that it would be really neat for them to have some lilacs in her room and that they thought she would like that. But it is a good hour drive to Julian, and none of them wanted to leave. Then we showed up at Jeremy and Shelley's home with a bunch of lilacs in a vase. God provided it through us! Jeremy was there to greet us and then he returned to where Shelley's grandmother is staying. We had home group without them that night. When he left, he told me about how they were just talking about lilacs and he was really touched that God had provided them. So he took the vase with him.

I think it is pretty cool to be used by God - even in a small way.