{"id":4811,"date":"2024-09-02T19:40:34","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T00:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/isaza\/?p=4811"},"modified":"2024-09-02T19:41:12","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T00:41:12","slug":"a-lilac-in-august","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/isaza\/2024\/09\/02\/a-lilac-in-august\/","title":{"rendered":"A lilac in August"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

I could have missed it. I definitely wasn’t looking for it. Never did it occur to me that on my walk in the Twin Cities, on one of the last mornings in August, I would find one lilac growing on a bush by the side of the road. But, that’s exactly what happened. And the flood of emotions that followed took me by surprise.<\/p>\r\n

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What is so special about a lilac in August? Well, for one it’s very rare. Lilacs in the Twin Cities bloom in late spring. I had never seen one past summer time. I typically miss seeing them because it’s such a short season and we don’t visit in spring.<\/p>\r\n

The other reason it was so special is that lilacs are my favorite flowers from childhood. We had lilac bushes at my childhood home and my grandma’s home. I would love cutting the flowers with my mom and making bouquets to put all around the house. My mom loved lilacs too, from the time she was a child, so it was something we shared. She would always make sure to cut lilacs if they were blooming when I was visiting. She would always take pictures to send to me. We don’t have lilacs in Colombia and it’s something from home I miss. Last year on a retreat in Europe in May the place we were staying had a huge lilac bush right in front of it and every day I could go and smell the lilacs. It felt like a gift from God.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

As I went on my walk that morning I was missing my mom. I had spent the past couple hours going through paperwork and files. So, to stumble upon a lilac felt like a huge gift. And of course my instinct was to call her and tell her. Hence, the flood of emotions that led to me crying on the side of the street. I stood there and smelled the flower repeatedly. As I walked another couple of blocks, I found another bush that had one blooming lilac. Another gift. It made me think of all the times I miss those sweet small gifts because I’m too busy to even pay attention to what is going on around me. It was like God saying, “I’m here. I see you.” And it made me happy thinking how happy it would make my mom. I had to stop and just sit on a bench for awhile, letting the tears fall. While an August lilac might seem insignificant, to me it meant the world. Grieving is a hard, tiring process. These reminders of my parents’ and God’s love help keep me moving forward. They remind me that God is present.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

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I could have missed it. I definitely wasn’t looking for it. 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