Canna Lilies

My grandfather's time had come.  God spoke to me and told me that I would give the eulogy.  He told me what to say.  I agreed without hesitation to do what God wanted me to, but told him I'd need confirmation.  I needed the family to ask me vs. me telling them.  So, a few days later I got the call asking me to prepare for the eulogy.  In the eulogy, God wanted to remind us that James and Lenora Kelly had followed the true and living God, that they had pointed the way to him.  That each of us had our own decision to make, but if we had chose the Lord we also had work to do on this Earth.  We were a large family, a blessed generation, flesh and bone of two people who knew the Lord.


Grandpa always planted Canna lilies.  All in a row, standing by the road side.  He separated them each year, and made the row longer and longer.  They were beautiful.  I liked the red ones best, but my cousins said there were also orange and yellow ones.  Which, I think is also fitting since all of our walks and gardens will be different.


Our walk with the Lord is much like that garden of Canna lilies.  We should plant God's testimony through our walk into other's hearts.  Now, sometimes we'll plant with pride, malice, hatred, or other evilness, but God sends the Holy Spirit to weed the Canna lily garden.  He'll take all of our imperfections that appear in our garden as weeds and he'll pull them right out.  Then, he'll divide and multiply our Canna lilies.  And our witness on this Earth will spread down the roadside of our lives, a pleasing sight to our Lord.  And one day when our work is done, He'll call us to our eternal home.  And, yes, we'll meet Grandma and Grandpa there. 


How do I know?  Well, that's a post for later.  Today, I'll share the poem I wrote for our reunion with Grandpa.


Canna Lilies -


Red Canna lilies in bloom,
we'll be coming home soon.
No more thorns and weeds to hoe
in the place where we will go.
A bright and starry day,
lit so we'll all find the way.
Into our reunion,
a blessed communion.
Breaking bread together
under skies of clear weather.
Your body will be healed,
your mind perfectly filled,
with thoughts of the Holy God
and a garden of perfect sod.
Where red Canna lilies bloom
and we'll all be there soon.