By Annette Ellard, CBF Field Personnel
Sometimes God puts an exclamation point on a person’s life when they pass. It’s seldom in a flashy way that’s obvious to everyone. But, to a certain few who knew the person, it’s obvious when God puts it out there. Like it was when my very dear Karen friend passed away.
Naw Pet faced many extraordinary challenges throughout her life, both before and after resettlement in Louisville, Ky. Nevertheless, she remained an extraordinarily strong woman, devoted mother and generous friend.
Naw Pet harvesting lukatha to share
I admired her for many things, but she truly was the most amazing gardener I’ve ever known. It seemed she could just look at the dirt and something would grow. She spent countless hours collecting and organizing seeds in the fall and winter, and she lived for planting and being in her garden in the spring and summer.
Although Naw Pet lived her whole life with little means, she loved to harvest her vegetables and share them with neighbors and friends. I was astonished at how many people told me stories about her choosing something just for them and having her son drive her to deliver it to their door. I shouldn’t have been surprised, she once sent four of her precious lukkaytha squash to my mother in South Carolina.
When she visited me after I moved to a new house, she didn’t seem interested in the house itself, but she was so proud for me that I had good dirt! Like me, she was excited about the variety of flowers that the previous resident had planted. She especially shared my love of the Surprise Lilies, and I was so happy to share some with her the next spring.
She was absolutely enamored with them. At first, it was difficult to help her understand that shortly after putting the transplants in her yard, the full swath of long green leaves would die off, leaving a pile of dead leaves to be mowed down or otherwise disposed of. But she watched and waited, until one day in late summer when she was surprised by the single, solitary stalks shooting up from the bare ground and bursting out into beautiful pink lilies
After saying goodbye to her the early August morning she passed away, I returned to her home to make ready for the mourners who would soon begin to arrive. And there by her front steps in a small patch of grass was the surprise—a Surprise Lily that had just popped into the morning sun.
You see, the Surprise Lily is also known as the Resurrection Lily. It’s a beautiful symbol of Jesus’ death and resurrection and what God has promised us through faith in Christ. A fitting tribute to my friend and a reminder to me of the power of resurrection in her life and mine.