Poor Little Lilly

In the shadow of the passing of Lilly Pulitzer, you might think by title that this post would be about her -- but no, it's about my little Easter Lilly.

 

It's been a long-standing tradition in my home that Jeff brings me a Lilly in the days before Easter.  I love Easter lillies -- everything about them -- the purity of color, the fragrance, and mostly the way they seem to open up and trumpet in celebration of Jesus' resurrection.

 

photo from Google images

 

 

This year, when Jeff brought her home for me on Easter Saturday, she stood tall, with six buds ready to burst.  Glorious! 

 

As always, she was given a position of prominence in the kitchen window where surely we would enjoy her magnificent blooms.  Sadly, in the days that followed, we watched as she began to bow down under the weight of her trumpet blossoms, until one day we found her laying on her side -- some dirt from her flower pot spilled onto the sill.

 

I tried to prop her up by leaning her against a window box vase, but still she just collapsed -- her stem too frail to hold herself upright.  That didn't stop her from blooming though, as one by one the buds opened up beautifully!

 

Now almost a week and a half later, I'm encouraged to see that after a week of leaning -- she can stand a little on her own without toppling over.  

 

 

In all of our years together, Jeff and I have never seen an Easter Lilly that sagged so sadly.  Jeff figures that at the greenhouse, she was probably jammed between a few heartier ones, and didn't quite get the light she needed to grow straight from the start.  At some point she probably burst through towards the sun -- bound and determined to make it -- but her stem didn't develop strongly enough to really support her.

Looking at her today I felt a little tug at my heart.  I can't help but wonder if Lilly isn't trying to tell me something.  We all need room to grow -- in our own time and at our own pace.   There will be times when we'll stand upright -- confident and ready for what the world has in store for us.  There will be times when we stumble and fall and we'll need to lean on a friend. 

Through it all, may we never forget to bow our heads and pray...just like little Lilly.