“I am a flower of Sharon, a lily of the valley. As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among women. As an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my lover among men. I delight to rest in his shadow, and his fruit is sweet to my mouth. He brings me into the banquet hall and his emblem over me is love. Strengthen me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.” (Song of Songs, 2:1-5)
So goes the introduction of a book that is filled with love.
How can we express love?
It can happen in so many ways. For me, though, I honestly see love through flowers; roses, gladiolas, violets, daisies, chrysanthemums, jonquils, four o’clocks, clover, poppies, peonies, baby’s breath, apple blossoms, pansies, tulips, crocus, forsythia and lilies.
Nothing makes me feel better than gorgeous flowers, still growing, in a bouquet, a basket, a vase, it doesn’t matter as long as they are truly flowers, real flowers, flowers that have had and perhaps still are having an actual life.
To me, in fact, flowers represent life, particularly perennials, which with their resurrection every year, are reminders of the eternal life that has been prescribed for all of us.
I learned about lilies a few years ago when I was sent to a garden store to buy new flowers for the window boxes and flowerpots at home. It was one of those dreaded annual tasks and then it dawned on me that perennials would alleviate that problem. The first display I encountered was a display of lilies, right at the door. “Lilies?” I thought, “They bloom on and on and on.”
And they have, each spring Vaunene, my “flower of Sharon,” my “lily of the valley,” my bright and morning star, anticipate their blooming.
When the stalks climb high and the first tiny blossoms begin to show and then break into the shape of the bell of a trumpet, as if to be heralding the coming spring and with it the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, I know we have all been born anew.
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