Consider the Lilies

My wife, Vera Galvez, performed the song, Consider the Lilies, at the 2025 RCS Reunion. For those who missed it, here is a recorded rehearsal version of the song followed by an application of its' meaning and the Bible Scripture from which it originates. Enjoy.

Consider the Lilies

In God’s Kingdom, I see a vast gathering of souls—rich and poor, sick and healthy, young and old. Their faces bear the hues of every nation—whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians—all different, yet all present in the same sacred space. Some wear fine robes, others simple garments, but the things that set them apart seem to lose their meaning here.

What becomes evident, overwhelmingly so, is not their differences, but what binds them. In every eye, I see the weight of sorrow. In every heart, I sense the ache of loss. They have all known suffering—grief for loved ones gone too soon, wounds left by words unspoken, burdens carried in silence. Though their lives have taken different paths, the road of pain has touched them all.

And there comes a time in our lives when we begin to look back – after all, we’re old men now. We reflect on the journey we’ve taken, remembering the joys and the triumphs—those moments when life felt full of promise and possibility. But as we gaze into the past, we also see the shadows: the setbacks that slowed us down, the losses that left empty spaces in our hearts, the tragedies that brought us to our knees.

When life is good, it’s easy to rejoice, to feel content, and to celebrate the blessings we receive. But when hardships come—and they inevitably do—how quickly we forget our purpose. We forget why we are here. We forget that our time on this earth is not just about collecting happy moments but about growing closer to God, about trusting Him even in the midst of our suffering.

Too often, we mistake hardships as abandonment when, in reality, they are invitations. Invitations to lean on God the way we once leaned on our parents as children—seeking their comfort, their wisdom, their reassurance. Just as a loving father does not take joy in his child’s pain, God does not bring suffering upon us. But in His divine wisdom, He allows trials to remind us, to teach us, to draw us back to Him.

It is easy to trust in God when life is smooth. But real faith is forged in the fire of adversity. The same God who clothes the lilies in the field and feeds the sparrows in the sky watches over us. If He tends so carefully to the smallest of His creations, how much more will He care for us, His beloved children?

Life will always bring both joy and sorrow. But through it all, God’s love remains constant. He is there in our victories, and He is there in our defeats. The question is—will we turn to Him? Will we seek Him in both the sunshine and the storm?

The trials of life are not meant to break us but to remind us that we were never meant to walk alone. If we open our hearts, if we surrender our fears, we will find that God is already there, waiting. Not to take away all our struggles, but to walk with us through them, to strengthen us, and to remind us that we are never forsaken.

So I say again, consider the lilies, and the sparrows, and how God tends to their needs. How much more important are we?

God knows the count of every hair on our head…

For we are His, and He is faithful. Always.

Revised Standard Version

Matthew Chapter 6, Verses 25 to 33

[25] "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

[26] Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

[27] And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?

[28] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;

[29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

[30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?

[31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?'

[32] For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

[33] But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.