|
“Flowers While You Live" Day of Love and Recognition
The concept of giving people their “flowers while they live" is the practice of honoring, recognizing, and showing appreciation to loved ones while they are alive to receive it, rather than waiting until their funeral.
This is not a new practice. One of the earliest documented uses of the phrase, is from an 1889 sermon by Reverend T.A. Cowan, who pleaded: "Sing now the song of joy to them. Give them flowers now; for they will not be able to see those you bring to their funeral."
The core message serves as a reminder to offer love, gratitude, and recognition, when it matters most and can be actively/physically experienced.
Understand, that the concept does not always involve ACTUAL flowers (although it can). The point is to say the things that count, offer the words that express your feelings about a person while they are alive and can appreciate the sentiments. This saying pairs well with Scriptural verses such as,
“What is your life? You are a mist, that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14).”
“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fail…” (1 Peter 1:24-25).
“They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.” (Psalm 144:4).
Friends, this is not to sound morbid. This is to remind us that tomorrow is not promised to each of us. Death can come, even to the very young, without warning. The reality is this:
We have an opportunity to say things that matter NOW! We have the opportunity to DO things that matter NOW! Let us not take advantage of our NOW opportunities.
So, we are going to STOP our Cards of Sonshine.
“Behold, we are doing a new thing…”
On Sunday, June 7, 2026, we are going to have our FIRST, “Flowers While You Live” Day of Love and Recognition. We are going to begin with Rebecca Caldwell. The truth is, ONLY GOD KNOWS THE NUMBER OF HER/OUR DAYS! We are praying that, despite her medical prognosis, God grants her more days than the medical community may think is possible. We serve the God who SPECIALIZES in things thought to be impossible! Nevertheless, we want Rebecca to know NOW how much we love her. There will be a basket placed in the Welcome Center. This basket is for your cards, letters, token gifts, etc. We can make the basket tailored to the person’s likes and personality. For example, Sara Charlton is allergic to actual flowers; so, we will NOT present her with a bouquet (Sara is also relatively young…it will take us a while to get to her day-I am just making a point). However, Rebecca is a gardener and LOVES the beauty of flowers (which do not have to be real).
The basket will bear the recipient’s name on it. We will present the basket to Rebecca on Sunday, June 7th. Thereafter, we will begin with our most “seasoned” members (chronologically), and honor one person every first Sunday. Please note, if we become aware of a specific illness, it may be necessary to have a Flowers While You Live Day out of numerical sequence.
We will let you know in advance who will be honored each month.
| 
