Searching for Miracles by Jaye Lewis

Before God spoke the universe into existence He knew my name.

Before He created the atmosphere He held me in His heart.

Before He created the oceans, the land, the plants and creeping things He chose the color of my hair.

Before He created the animals and before He created the first man He loved me.

He placed within Adam’s body all of the DNA of every human being who would ever walk the earth, and within him he placed the color of my eyes.

Before He knit me together within my mother’s womb he cherished the sound of my laugh.

Before I shed my first tear he felt my pain.

Before my sin, my sorrow, and my stubborn disobedience, he chose to carry them to the Cross. He hung there His blood pouring out…for me.

Why he chose to do this I cannot comprehend. God wanted me to be his own child. How can that be? With all of my flaws and character defects He wanted me to believe in Him, and He gave me the grace to believe in myself.

God loves me with a fire that can never be quenched. I am special to him, even if I am not special to anyone else, including myself.

I have tried to perfect myself, and I have failed.

I have tried to believe the world’s message, but I have found no answers.

I have followed the paths forged by others only to find disaster at every bend in the road.

Only God has given me the answers that I have sought. Peace. Love. Fulfillment.

The change in my life is not a complicated one.

It’s not about how good I am or how I pray or how often I go to church. It’s not about money or fame or popularity.

I cannot speak for others. They must decide for themselves.

I only know that the world has given me no happiness.

After searching my entire life, I have only been able to find the answers to my questions, on my knees at the foot of the Cross.

© Jaye Lewis, 2003

In the Beauty of the Evening by Jaye Lewis

In the beauty of the evening
Through the garden as I stroll,
I walk among the lilies
To renew my burdened soul.

As I ponder on my troubles
And replay my anxious thoughts,
I can hear my Savior whisper
Peace cannot be bought.

What words are these?
What can He mean?
Peace is brokered every day,
But not the peace I give to you;
It cannot be stripped away.

I pondered all He said to me,
Never doubting what I heard.
Though heart and mind were troubled,
I believed His every word.

Peace to you, my daughter.
You are precious in my sight.
I am your strength and comfort,
Through the dark and lonely night.

The evening breeze turned cooler,
And a chill crept up my spine,
As I heard my Master whisper,
Daughter, you are Mine.

I can’t express the wonder
That filled my troubled soul —
To know my Savior loves me,
As He makes my spirit whole.

I know that I’ll not be alone,
As I slowly lose my sight.
I need not fear the night time
For I’m bathed within His light.

And so I journey onward,
My dreams held in His heart.
I need not fear the future,
For He will not depart.

So here with His assurance,
I can promise with each line,
You can hear the Master saying,
Beloved, you are mine.

© Jaye Lewis, November, 2009

Lovely Liatris by Jaye Lewis

Hello friends,

Lilies are extraordinary flowers. Vibrant and waxen in appearance, these lilies of the field blend well with a host of companion flowers. One of my favorite companion flowers, is the liatris. Liatris is not a lily, although it is grown from a bulb. Tall and fuzzy, liatris is a native wildflower that aims to please. It blooms, and blooms, and blooms. It also drops a thousand seeds, which will take root in your garden.

Liatris is so prolific, that you can literally dig up clumps, move them elsewhere, and find the following summer, that you still have dramatic blue liatris stands, right where you dug out the originals. Since liatris blooms at the same time as your lilies, it is a joy to behold. From bold lilies to even bolder liatris, you will attract beneficial insects galore. And frankly, the sight will simply take your breath away.

Liatris also grows well in a wildflower setting, able to compete with the most aggressive cultivars. Liatris also looks beautiful in a field of tall annuals, such as zinnias, cosmos, gaillardias, cone flowers and more.

Many experienced gardeners think it is proper to make gardening seem complicated and tiresome to the uninitiated. As a matter of fact, I find many “master” gardeners boring and vain. But those of us who see the Creator in every living thing we see, well, we want you to see Him, too. And the experience of gardening can be an awe inspiring encounter with the Almighty. No matter how humans attempt to leave God out of the picture, the more I see that He is present in every flower in my garden. I think you are going to love liatris, with it’s unassuming beauty. You need only buy a few, but don’t expect an abundance until the second year. In your third year be prepared to share with everyone you know.

I hope you will try the purple liatris. Plant the bulbs about two inches down in your soil. If you prefer, and you have enough room, liatris also makes a lovely woodland plant, in mid-summer, when you are hoping for something dramatic at the woodland’s edge.

The picture above is of my own garden, taken with my own camera. You can see the flowers around the liatris, those tall, stiff fuzzy beacons of beauty. I hope that you will take a leap of faith, and make a small lily garden and just see what God can do with your heart.

With love,
Jaye Lewis
www.entertainingangels.org
www.jayelewisdiabetesdiary.blogspot.com
www.entertainingangelsencouragingwords.blogspot.com

Trumpet Lily Splendor by Jaye Lewis

Hello friends,

Of all the lilies in my garden, the lovely trumpet lily is the most “splendiferous,” a passing child once informed me. And, you know, I couldn’t agree more. Not only are these four to five feet tall lilies beautifully imposing when planted en masse, but their scent is heavenly. Thick, without being heavy, the sweet, intoxicating perfume draws you to each nodding bell, so that you are tempted to bury your face within its waxy petals. I cannot express to you just how much I miss that heavenly perfume.

You see, I have no sense of smell, and when the lilies are in bloom, I long for it. I wonder, as I see them multiplying year after year, if one day I’ll walk out my door, and simply be overcome with sight and scent. At least I fanaticize it will be so. The last sweet scent that I remember inhaling, was the delightful fragrance of our Trumpeter Lilies in their first year. Unremarkable to view, just singly nodding there, the sweet perfume nearly lifted me from the ground, and I almost floated over. I could not get close enough. I wanted to crawl right inside and stay for a thousand years.

That was years ago. Today, I can only gaze in wonder as the dazzling trumpets multiply, seemingly overnight. Will I never again experience that sweet smell? Along with that loss, fear grips me, daily, as diabetes also steals my sight.

“If that ever happens, Momma,” my daughters have promised me, “we will hold your hand and whisper all the colors into your ear, and we will recall each lovely essence, so that your soul will feel the fragrance again.” Perhaps I have romanticized their words, but the love which blossoms from their hearts, far surpasses the heady scent that I miss so much.

Trumpeter Lily is as easy to grow as any other lily. Large bulbs, planted six inches down, in well-drained, well mulched soil, with little care, will reward you for years with heavenly sight and scent. Don’t let a single blissful moment escape you, for should you, like me, begin to lose two of the five senses that God has blessed you with, you will want all your faculties to help you remember. And should you be as blessed as I am, you also may have someone who will whisper remembrances of colors and fragrance into your ears.

Heavenly Father, grant us the grace to gather each moment, each breath, each scent of our lives, like jeweled treasures into our hearts, so that when time and memory grows dim, we will not forget. And when we do remember, Lord, help us to be thankful for what we have, and not grieve over what we have lost. May we decide, now, how rich we will allow our lives to be, then, and may we do this with grateful hearts.

With love,
Jaye Lewis
www.entertainingangels.org
www.entertainingangelsencouragingwords.blogspot.com
www.jayelewisdiabetesdiary.blogspot.com

The Incredible Tiger Lily By Jaye Lewis

Hello friends,

The first time that I laid my eyes on the Tiger Lily, I could not believe that it was real. I felt the leaves. They felt real enough. Then I touched the flower. It was real. The waxen petals of this beauty curl around and face the ground. But that’s okay with me. Even from a distance, a large cluster of brilliant orange tiger lilies can take your breath away.

Just yesterday, I received a wonderful surprise in the mail. My DOUBLE Tiger Lilies had arrived. Double Tiger Lilies are a spontaneous mutation that causes them to have a plethora of petals. I have lusted after these lilies ever since I first saw them. At the time, they were too expensive for me. However the price came down far enough so that I was able to buy three.

Three lilies are the perfect amount to buy, because lilies, especially the nearly wild Tigers, bloom year after year, and they multiply almost exponentially. In three years my arms will be full of lilies.

There are many reputable garden nurseries, online, that are safe to buy from. You want to get large, vigorous bulbs. And please, please listen. Buy from a reputable online nursery, not the discount stores. I will be talking more about this in another issue. Lilies can be planted in early spring or fall, and they will bless your life for years to come.

My garden is a place of real joy to me. Often, while on my knees, I talk to God about the things I love: my family, my children, my faith, and, oh yes, that little flower over there, Lord. It’s so tiny. Will it grow and flourish?

In my heart I hear His answer. My child, give the little flower love, even as I have loved you, and it will grow and flourish.

With a warmth in my heart, that I cannot express, I feel loved and validated by my Father in Heaven. He knows me. He not only knows what I am doing; he knows what I am trying to do.

Well, friends, I’m leaving now, but I will be back soon. I will make certain that I have the resources that you need, so that you, too, can have the garden of your dreams.

With love,
Jaye Lewis
www.entertainingangels.org
www.entertainingangelsencouragingwords.blogspot.com
www.jayelewisdiabetesdiary.blogspot.com

Growing Lilies Makes Good Scents by Jaye Lewis

Of all the flowers of the field, according to the Bible, lilies were Jesus favorite. At least I like to think so, because they are my favorite, too.

Lilies come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. There are the wild lilies, which you may have seen growing in fields, on roadsides, and in ditches in rural areas of America. Wild lilies are native plants which usually are an unremarkable light orange. They are tall, and can be somewhat invasive. Some people like to grow them on hillsides where nothing else will grow.

Lilies are one of the easiest flowers to cultivate, and they are so productive that you might find yourself overwhelmed, as we were this summer, with more lilies than you know what to do with.

Lilies hybridize easily. That is why there are over one-hundred different wild lilies and nearly 10,000 named hybrids. Man, of course, has heavily hybridized the species, yet, in my own garden I have seen them hybridize themselves. Some of the natural hybrids deserve a place at the back of our little acre, and others are simply moved to the front for all to see. Certainly these are the flowers that Jesus used to illustrate our need for dependence on God. God does wonderful things in the garden.

I’m crazy about Oriental lilies, particularly the ‘Stargazer’ in the photo, upper left. This lovely lily is from my own garden. It’s bright waxen petals are wonderfully spotted pink and red. Stargazer is, easily, the most popular of the new lily cultivars. Richly fragrant and incredibly exotic, the Stargazer Oriental lily takes one’s breath away.

Stargazer asks little from us except six hours of sun in well drained ordinary garden soil. Give her some shade in very hot climates, a little bulb fertilizer in spring, and she will bless your garden for years to come.

I love to walk through my garden in the cool of the day, much as our Creator did in the twilight of Eden. I believe that God loves a garden, just as He loves the gardener who loves Him. I feel a deep passion for the Lord, especially when I walk with Him through the lilies of the field.

With love,
Jaye Lewis
www.entertainingangels.org
www.entertainingangelsencouragingwords.blogspot.com
www.jayelewisdiabetesdiary.blogspot.com