The beauty of the lilies

With the Wade family and son John in Colorado, July 2014

I watch the sun climb into a cold, cloudless, February sky above the Mexican sierras, warmed in my kitchen by a small space heater and by the voice of my dear friend Sharon Wade (center of the photo).  I've listened to her "Songs of the Heart" repeatedly in recent weeks, thinking of Sharon's perseverance in the face of injustice, deprivation, and pain…her husband wrongly convicted and incarcerated for years, her own life threatened, turned upside down.  Made beautiful in the crucible of suffering, her sweet spirit has nurtured me and many others.

As Sharon sings "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory," the American Civil War hymn, words I've heard and sung over many years resonate and pierce my soul:

"In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, with the glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me."

Considering the lilies (white blooms right lower corner) and the old property
that would become home a few months later

I think of the lilies that drew me to the land I now occupy, beckoning to me through an old wire fence with a frayed for rent sign. The lily plants drooped against hard dirt, obviously long neglected.  Yet some of them bloomed bravely in the space between a small house and a palapa-like structure.  I longed to get access to them, to tend them.  Clearly some nurture could transform these few acres!  

Six months later, the lilies thrive, providing beauty all around.  But getting back to the hymn…why the image of Christ being born in the beauty of lilies?  Are they symbols of the purity and fragrance of Christ?  A nod to his instruction to consider the lilies of the field and not worry about material things?  Now informed by life in the desert of Baja California with its water shortages, I wonder if Christ came to a dry land like Israel so the truth of his being the water (and bread) of life might be clearer.  

This I know:  Christ has faithfully watered me in the desert of marital pain, separation, and now divorce. In the midst of uncertainty, he has brought me helpers and enabled me to create a home for myself and others. And "the glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me" has given me hope--confidence that as we persevere through the struggles and suffering of life, he transforms us into his own beautiful image.

Aunt Lois Raser came to live near me in late November--her home to left, mine right--
and the thriving lily plants are seen behind the chair, behind my hat

Son Owen (25)--stalwart helper in renovating structures/property--with Lois in my kitchen

Rosa (L), compassionate and able live-in companion/caregiver for Lois, 
helps celebrate Lois' 88th birthday with son Alex and friends Lupita and Salvador