oh, so glad you enjoyed it.
Syl
Sugar Says:
'Life is not the way it's supposed to be.
It's the way it is.
The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.'
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sherri Crum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 6:47 PM
Subject: [RecipesAndMore] Re: MAGNOLIAS
>
> This is beautiful. Simply beautiful! Thanks for the great post.
>
> Sherri
>
> On 4/7/08, Sugar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> MAGNOLIAS
>>
>>
>>
>> Edna Ellison
>>
>> I spent the week before my daughter's June wedding
>>
>> running last-minute trips to the caterer, florist,
>>
>> tuxedo shop, and the church about forty miles away.
>>
>> As happy as I was that Patsy was marrying a good
>>
>> Christian young man, I felt laden with
>>
>> responsibilities as I watched my budget dwindle . .
>>
>> So many details, so many bills, and so little
>>
>> time. My son Jack was away at college, but he said
>>
>> he would be there to walk his younger sister down
>>
>> the aisle, taking the place of his dad who had died
>>
>> a few years before. He teased Patsy, saying he'd
>>
>> wanted to give her away since she was about three
>>
>> Years old!
>>
>> To save money, I gathered blossoms from several
>>
>> friends who had large magnolia trees. Their
>>
>> luscious, creamy-white blooms and slick green leaves
>>
>> would make beautiful arrangements against the rich
>>
>> dark wood inside the church.
>>
>> After the rehearsal dinner the night before the
>>
>> wedding, we banked the podium area and choir loft
>>
>> with magnolias. As we left just before midnight, I
>>
>> felt tired but satisfied this would be the best
>>
>> wedding any bride had ever had! The music, the
>>
>> ceremony, the reception - and especially the
>>
>> flowers - would be remembered for years.
>>
>> The big day arrived - the busiest day of my life -
>>
>> and while her bridesmaids helped Patsy to dress, her
>>
>> fiance, Tim walked with me to the sanctuary to do a
>>
>> final check. When we opened the door and felt a
>>
>> rush of hot air, I almost fainted; and then I saw
>>
>> them - all the beautiful white flowers were black.
>>
>> Funeral black. An electrical storm during the night
>>
>> had knocked out the air conditioning system, and on
>>
>> that hot summer day, the flowers had wilted and
>>
>> died.
>>
>> I panicked, knowing I didn't have time to drive back
>>
>> to our hometown, gather more flowers, and return in
>>
>> time for the wedding.
>>
>> Tim turned to me. 'Edna, can you get more flowers?
>>
>> I'll throw away these dead ones and put fresh
>>
>> flowers in these arrangements.'
>>
>> I mumbled, 'Sure,' as he be-bopped down the hall to
>>
>> put on his cuff links.
>>
>> Alone in the large sanctuary, I looked up at the
>>
>> dark wooden beams in the arched ceiling. 'Lord,' I
>>
>> prayed, 'please help me. I don't know anyone in
>>
>> this town. Help me find someone willing to give me
>>
>> flowers - in a hurry!' I scurried out praying for
>>
>> four things: the blessing of white magnolias,
>>
>> courage to find them in an unfamiliar yard, safety
>>
>> from any dog that may bite my leg, and a nice person
>>
>> who would not get out a shotgun when I asked to cut
>>
>> his tree to shreds.
>>
>> As I left the church, I saw magnolia trees in the
>>
>> distance. I approached a house... No dog in sight.
>>
>> I knocked on the door and an older man answered. So
>>
>> far so good . . . No shotgun. When I stated my plea
>>
>> the man beamed, 'I'd be happy to!'
>>
>> He climbed a stepladder and cut large boughs and
>>
>> handed them down to me. Minutes later, as I lifted
>>
>> the last armload into my car trunk, I said, 'Sir,
>>
>> you've made the mother of a bride happy today.'
>>
>> 'No, Ma'am,' he said. 'You don't understand what's
>>
>> happening here.'
>>
>> 'What?' I asked.
>>
>> 'You see, my wife of sixty-seven years died on
>>
>> Monday. On Tuesday I received friends at the
>>
>> funeral home, and on Wednesday . . . He paused. I
>>
>> saw tears welling up in his eyes. 'On Wednesday I
>>
>> buried her.' He looked away. 'On Thursday most of
>>
>> my out-of-town relatives went back home, and on
>>
>> Friday - yesterday - my children left.'
>>
>> I nodded.
>>
>> 'This morning,' he continued, 'I was sitting in my
>>
>> den crying out loud. I miss her so much. For the
>>
>> last sixteen years, as her health got worse, she
>>
>> needed me. But now nobody needs me. This morning I
>>
>> cried, 'Who needs an eighty-six-year-old wore-out
>>
>> man? Nobody!' I began to cry louder. 'Nobody needs
>>
>> me!' About that time, you knocked, and said, 'Sir,I need
>> you.'
>>
>> I stood with my mouth open.
>>
>> He asked, 'Are you an angel? The way the light shone
>>
>> around your head into my dark living room...'
>>
>> I assured him I was no angel.
>>
>> He smiled. 'Do you know what I was thinking when I
>>
>> handed you those magnolias?'
>>
>> 'No.'
>>
>> 'I decided I'm needed. My flowers are needed. Why,
>>
>> I might have a flower ministry! I could give them
>>
>> to everyone! Some caskets at the funeral home have
>>
>> no flowers. People need flowers at times like that
>>
>> and I have lots of them. They're all over the
>>
>> backyard! I can give them to hospitals, churches -
>>
>> all sorts of places. You know what I'm going to do?
>>
>> I'm going to serve the Lord until the day He calls
>>
>> me home!'
>>
>> I drove back to the church, filled with wonder. On
>>
>> Patsy's wedding day, if anyone had asked me to
>>
>> encourage someone who was hurting, I would have
>>
>> said, 'Forget it! It's my only daughter's wedding,
>>
>> for goodness' sake! There is no way I can minister
>>
>> to anyone today.'
>>
>> But God found a way. Through dead flowers.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sugar Says:
>>
>>
>>
>> 'Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the
>>
>> way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the
>>
>> difference.'
>>
>>
>>
>> >
>>
>
> >
>
>
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>
>
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