Lily White

When we lived in Mississippi, one day I walked into the backyard and was startled to see a beautiful, tall flower growing on a slender stem where there had been no plant the day before. Later, I noticed a few more in out of the way places--in a bare spot by an old tree, a forgotten corner of the back fence, or in a shady place by the shed. I found out the spider lily-like flower is called the resurrection plant. It seems a plant comes up, having foliage early on that later dies, leaving no trace. Then much later, a tall stem shoots up overnight with the lovely bloom, thus the name.

I have a strange, giant plant that erupts in the middle of my back yard every week that reminds me of the resurrection plant. It has colorful petals of every hue ruffling in the wind, clustered around a center of dazzling white. When the petals fall off, the bare stalk with its skeletal stems reminiscent of the spider lily remains briefly, usually disappearing before nightfall and leaving no trace.

It is wash day. I hang my smaller whites in the middle of the umbrella clothes dryer, where they remind me of the center of a posy surrounded by the colorful laundry fluttering in the breeze. They are naturally fragrant from the sun and wind, their scent enhanced by the faint perfume of detergent that lingers like a flower-laden tropical breeze in the folds of the fabric.

A few hours later, I’m filling my wicker basket with layers of petals like a flower girl in a wedding. The bare lines on their umbrella ribs are collapsed by my husband, their pole telescoped and stored in the garage until next week. They leave no trace, except for a small green flip-top lid that covers the sleeve lining the hole for the post, where they will reappear next week like the resurrection plant.

The analogy is, of course, Christ’s resurrection, when he was “buried” but arose three days later when he appeared to Mary at the tomb. She had been met by angels in white garments. Before His crucifixion, Jesus had been teaching the disciples and predicting His death and resurrection. His Transfiguration, in the presence of Peter, James and John, is a glimpse of the Resurrection and the Second Coming. The Bible says in Mark 9:3, “And His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller (launderer) on earth can white them.”

“But who may abide the day of His coming: and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap,” Malachi 3:2. Someday the faithful will receive a white robe (Rev.3:5), having been washed in the blood of the Lamb. We shall walk with Him in white (Rev. 3:4). Maybe that’s why I like dazzling whites in my laundry!