AN EASTER LILLY

There was once a woman who lived in a very small poor village, who was very kind, and clever, but sad and aloof. The people who knew her loved her dearly, and they had all heard of the very sad and painful life she had endured. But yet she always smiled, and went out of her way to bring joy into other people's lives.

One day she went for one of her walks by the river, and she saw this man fishing. "Hello" He said in a very sweet friendly voice. She turned and smiled at him and said, "Hello, I've never seen you here before. Are you new to the village?" The man turned to her and said, "No, I'm not new to this village, I come to visit quite often." The woman was puzzled. The village she lived in was very small, and everyone knows each other, and she had never seen this man before. But she decided to take him at his word, and as she walk passed him she said, "Well, God be with you, and have a good day." "You don't really believe that do you?" The man asked her. "What?" She replied in a somewhat shocked voice. "You don't really believe that God is with us" The man answered. The woman looked at him with anger and replied "Of course I believe God is with us! What are you saying, that I don't believe in God?" "No" the man replied with a calm soothing voice, "I'm not saying you don't believe in God, I'm just saying that you don't believe that he's with us always." At this point the woman was just about to tell this stranger off, when he walked over to her and said, "I'm sorry if I angered you, I didn't mean to do that. My name is David. What is your name?" The woman looked up at him with anger and resentment at first, but when she looked into his eyes, they seem to pierce right through her. She regained her composer, and answered, "Lilly". "That's such a beautiful name, how did you come to be called that?" David asked her. Lilly put her head down and said, "Well, my mom and dad were very very poor, and at Easter, my dad never seemed to have enough money to give my mom flowers, so he would spend hours the day before Easter to find the most beautiful Lilly he could find to give her on Easter morning. So years later when I was born on Easter morning, mom named me Lilly."

They sat there by the river talking and Lilly ended up telling David her life story, and all the pain and suffering she had endured her whole life. Then after sharing all this with him, she turned to him and said, "You know David you were right, I do have trouble believing that God is always with us. I mean I believe in God, and I know there must be a reason why I suffer, but it's hard to believe he's always with me." David reached out and took her hand and said, "Sweetheart, it's hard for you to believe that he is with you, because it's hard for you to believe that anyone, including God really loves you." Lilly sprang to her feet in anger and shouted, "That's not true, my parents loved me, and they loved each other very much!" David stood close to Lilly, looked into her eyes and asked her, "And how do you know that your dad loved your mom?" Lilly looked up at him and said, "Because mom told me that one Easter when she found her Lilly on the table, dad left her a note that read: My love, I know you've had a hard life, but I love you, and will always be with you." Lilly started to cry, and as David gave her a reassuring hug, she felt such strength and comfort in his embrace.

She walked away feeling very strange, and even embarrassed, that she had confided so much to a stranger. When she returned home she walked into her kitchen and saw a beautiful Lilly on the table with a card that read: My Child, I know you've had a hard life, but I love you, and will always be with you. Lilly cried, ran out the door all the way back to the river shouting David's name, desperately trying to find him, but he was gone.

Many years past, But because David taught her that it's okay to open up and let people into your heart, she found great joy and comfort from her friends. Then one day God sent a wonderful man into her life, and because she had learned to trust, they fell in love and she knew that she would be loved for the rest of her life. And on her wedding day as she danced with her new husband, someone tapped him on the shoulder to dance with the bride, and to Lilly's shock, it was David! Lilly cried and said, "David where have you been all these years! I looked for you, but couldn't find you! How could you do that to me, how could you leave me!" David smiled at her and said, "Sweetheart, I've been with you since the day you were born. I was there when your mother first held you, and gave you your first kiss. I was there every time someone kissed you and I was there every time someone gave you a loving embrace. But when you grew up you pushed me away, and what's worse, you stopped believing in me. Don't you see Lilly, God sends me to everyone, every day. But unless you open your heart, I can't touch you." He kissed her then started to walk away. Lilly shouted "Don't go David! When will I see you again?" David stopped turned to her and said, "You'll see me in every kiss you give or get, and in every smile that's given to you. I am the twinkle in your husband's eye, and even the wag in your puppy dog's tail. Don't ever worry about finding me, because I will always come to you, for my name isn't David child, my name is Love."