The sighting of a pink rain lily, copper lily and an autumn lily in our garden, brought an ecstatic feeling, as it is not common to see them flower on the same day in our garden !
After downloading and watching them, the thought that crossed my mind was the statement of Jesus of Nazareth, ' ...Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil or spin, ....But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith'? (Matthew 6; 28-30).
A day later all the three flowers had folded up; on the third day they looked drooping and on fourth day each of them was on the ground. The transient brilliance, colour and elegance of the flowers faded away and they returned to the earth.
I stayed with this thought for a while! The flowers of these three lilies provided a spectacular look and overshadowed the other flowers as they were prominently present on a long stalk in their brilliance of colours!
There is a natural transience to life!
During that life time, there is abundance, radiance and colourfulness.
Life leaves behind memories to last !
These lilies lived with their given gifts of colour and brilliance in the garden to bring a festive look for visitors to behold!
The flowers gave themselves to others.
The visitors to the flowers included insects, bees, and butterfly to receive nectar!
These flowers were quietly present and bloomed, where they were planted !
They were planted to bloom for others!
It is this thought that awakened me even more!
Life is given and transient; living is for becoming a gift of grace to others; when the time to fade away has arrived, one leaves behind memories for others to cherish!
No wonder Jesus of Nazareth said: ' Do not be anxious then, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink or with what shall we clothe ourselves... for your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things' (Matthew 6: 31-32).
I recall a conversation with Dr Raj Arole when he was the chairman of the Emmanuel Hospital Association. I was an intern then after finishing my medical studies. He asked a few of us, ' Do you plan for your lives to seek prospects for yourselves or do you think of others who live looking for access to health care?'.
Drs Raj and Mabel Arole by then had created a model of rural health care by training women in primary health care in Jamkhed in 1970, which was commented by the World Health Organisation as a viable model in primary health care. The health indices in rural areas in Jamkhed improved considerably in ten years creating a wave of changes in rural life of many in Ahemednagar district. The Comprehensive Rural Health Project influenced the WHO when it declared in 1978 the call for global primary health service, as part of its commitment to 'Health for all' plan.
I remember how Dr Raj and Mabel Arole refused an invitation to stay on, in the international health department of the John Hopkins Bloomberg University, although Dr Carl E Taylor, the founder of the department, under whom they were trained, persuaded them! In fact it was during that time Dr Taylor designed the global agenda for primary health.
They returned to India to live and work among people by becoming an offering to them ! They wanted to be rooted to bloom for others, who longed for primary health care! They trusted God who promised to take care of their own needs. They left a legacy of self giving and memory of incarnational living among people who were disadvantaged!
The sighting of the three lilies took me on an inward journey! I am moved that the story of the memories of the past can bring refreshing touch to the daily living!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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