Consider the lillies

This is day lily season at our house, and thanks to the previous owners, we get a beautiful show of Luke 12:27.  Before living here I had no clue that they came in so many different colors.

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.   Luke 12:27

This story should wait for a Memorial Box Monday, but it's too good to hang on to until then.  And no, it's not really about lilies, but about God's provision and care for even the window dressings of our daily life.

It's been a busy couple weeks for projects around the house, and this week God showed up as master decorator.  A month or so ago we bought a new to us loveseat at an incredible bargain price.  While we loved the Southwestern design, it didn't match our living room paint job at all.  So when there was extra paint left from one of the scheduled projects, we jumped at the chance to redo the living room.

Painting began, we found a trim color that we liked, and then realized that we would need new curtains, too.  A quick trip to Walmart and we walked out empty handed after looking at several possibilities.  The color that worked best was out of stock, as were sheets in that color (another option), and the fabric we liked was out of our next to nonexistent decorating budget.

I began praying for curtains as we worked to finish the painting.  The ideal:  green to match the stripe in the loveseat, and $20 or less.  But if that wasn't available, I decided that we could find some inexpensive sheets and dye them the right color, then make up the curtains myself since the chances of finding a matching set for all three large windows second hand seemed slim.

Wednesday morning arrived.  Painting was finished, furniture was moved back in place.  It was time for curtains.  The night before as we went around the dinner table giving thanks, I'd thanked God for the curtains that He would be providing, having no idea yet what they would be.  A bit anxiously, we set off to hit the local thrift and consignment stores.  Our first stop was the Salvation Army store.  As the kids checked out the toys, I started through the racks.  Flat sheets . . . . yes, those might work, but there weren't enough matching.  A couple of ivory curtains . . . . no, not long enough.  

Coming around to the other side of the rack I spied a green color that looked right.  Long window scarves in darker and lighter green.  Yes, they matched!  But how many were there?  Three of each color.  A quick check of the way they were made revealed that I could unstitch the seams and get two panels out of each one, enough to have each window match.  Right color.  Right size.  Right number.   That just left the price.   Definitely right - $2.99 each.  Add in a spool of thread to match, and the total came in at just under $20!  The ideal curtains, straight from God.



I had plenty of time to thank God for the perfect colors as I ripped out seams.  Plenty of time to pray as I pressed the long lengths of fabric.  Plenty of time to marvel at God's providence and care for even little things like curtains as I sewed late, late into the night.  Plenty of time to wonder how my life would change if I truly began to trust Him to provide in all things and not worry when situations seem without solution to human eyes.

And now, every time I walk through my living room, I see a good and perfect gift from my heavenly Father, a beautiful reminder that I can truly trust in God's provision.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:17