Good morning…
“Hi, Sue,” my friend Vilda wrote after our post entitled Spring Wears A Green Jacket. “Did you know those green shoots pushing through the decayed log and ground are Trilliums — an endangered wild flower? Our farm is named Trillium Springs because we moved one single Trillium from our back yard in Atlanta to the farm in October 1998. In April, 1999, my husband called me away from writing a paper for grad school to see a whole field of Trilliums blooming on a hillside at the farm.”
“We had always loved Trilliums as I thought they represented the Trinity with their three leaves and three petaled flower — and much like our faith which is many times endangered,” she explained.
“They always bloom just after Easter as a reminder of God’s faithfulness.”
“Unfortunately, if you pick the flower the plant dies,” she noted. “The deer at our farm have just about wiped out our Trillium garden so whenever I see one anywhere it brings me joy and sadness.”
We witness joy and sadness everywhere we turn.
Strong love and ugly hate.
New births and sudden deaths.
Bonding weddings and touching funerals.
At the funeral I attended last week for our longtime friend Tom McLain, the lively memories shared sparked joy and sadness. Tom’s obituary painted a vibrant picture of a loving “girl dad” and a devoted husband, a loyal friend and an active Northside Church member, a man deeply committed to serving others and a seventeen year survivor of a debilitating brain tumor. I knew Tom to be humble, a hands-on helper with a huge heart.
Spreading wildly like the Trilliums, Tom lived the wisdom of Proverbs 11:24-26 (VOICE):
One shares liberally and yet gains even more,
while another hoards more than is right and still has need.
A giving person will receive much in return,
and someone who gives water will also receive the water he needs.
The footnote below this scripture reads: “Generosity places God’s gifts and blessings into circulation. The principle is simply stated: by giving we receive. This may seem counterintuitive, but it is how God’s economy works. As Jesus said, ‘Don’t hold back—give freely, and you’ll have plenty poured back into your lap—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, brimming over. You’ll receive in the same measure you give’ (Luke 6:38).”
Through the joys and the sorrows of his 66 years on earth, Tom exuded generosity. His obituary plants a seed: “Carry on Tom’s legacy: say yes to everything!”
May Tom’s life-giving legacy spread through our lives like wild Trilliums on the hillside.
…Sue…
