Consider the Lillies
‘Consider the Lillies' was recorded almost twenty years ago by The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. I loved it immediately. The message of gratitude and faith and trusting in God resonated with me, even though I couldn’t actually imagine a flower like that growing wild in the middle of a field somewhere.
I remember the first time I listened to this song after arriving in Africa. We were driving at the end of a long day visiting missionaries in some of the most densely populated and humble areas of our mission. My heart felt heavy as my mind tried to reconcile the circumstances which seemed challenging and unfair for so many of God’s children.
Gary and I wanted to comfort ourselves by listening to some uplifting music but I was struggling to access the playlists I’d created for our mission. I could only find ONE song that would work. As 'Consider the Lillies' began to play we looked at each other and both started to cry. I turned it up loud and we listened to it over and over all the way home.
Consider the sweet, tender children
Who must suffer on this earth...
The pains of all of them he carried
From the day of his birth.
He clothes the lilies of the field,
He feeds the lambs in His fold,
And he will heal those who trust him,
And make their hearts as gold.
Lillies.
Right there, growing wild in a field.
In Africa.
I made Gary pull over and stop. We couldn’t get a clear view of them behind us so he turned the car around and drove back the other way. Still, it wasn’t enough. We circled around again and spotted a place to drive into the field and get a little closer. Another storm was making its way to us and the grasses waved and whipped, but everything else felt still and quiet.
Consider the sheep of his fold,
How they follow where he leads.
Though the path may wind across the mountains,
He knows the meadows where they feed.
He clothes the lilies of the field.
He feeds the birds in the sky,
And he will feed those who trust him,
And guide them with his eye.
Current world conflicts remind me that there will always be infuriating unfairness in mortality, but for a few minutes on an African roadside Heavenly Father used all my senses to remind me of his love. I could hear with my ears, see with my eyes, touch and smell a beautiful lily. He gently reminded me that my myopic vision doesn't limit Him and that because He loves us, He sent His perfect Son to redeem and comfort us in our infirmities and experience. When I don't understand, that is the time to work on my faith.
A talk given by Elder Clark G. Gilbert in the most recent general conference has also blessed my perspective:
Consider the lilies of the field,
How they grow, how they grow.
Consider the birds in the sky,
How they fly, how they fly.
He clothes the lilies of the field.
He feeds the birds in the sky.
And He will feed those who trust Him,
And guide them with His eye.
Now I'm crying because I feel this and I'm so touched as it brings so many memories of my time in Africa. The children are so happy with so little, and I know they feel or believe in a God .... And that's why we are there, to teach them of their Savior who loves them.
ReplyDeleteI love this song too. It is so peaceful and beautiful. Last summer was very hot here in Wyoming without rain for a couple of months. My cherry trees tend to be ready to harvest on July 4th and I often have company then, or am in the mountains. The birds LOVE to get the cherries about 3 days before they are red enough for me to pick. Anyway, I was so busy with company that I just let the birds get them. This song came to mind. "He feeds the birds in the sky". I knew that all that grows here is from the Lord and the birds taking all the cherries was a lesson to me on how the Lord cares for them and us. (They got a lot of the grapes too, and little bites of plums and apples and pears ... they can't just eat one whole fruit, they peck at lots of them. Maybe I need to teach them manners.) Cindy Bower - Casper, WY
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