DID YOU KNOW THAT THE LILY OF THE VALLEY IS A SMALL BEAUTIFUL WHITE FLOWER THAT GROWS IN THE SHADE? DID YOU KNOW THAT IT HAS A SWEET, SWEET FRAGRANCE? DID YOU KNOW THAT IN ISRAEL THIS LITTLE FLOWER IS AS COMMON AS OUR DAISY AND IS EASILY TRAMPLED UNDER FOOT?
I live in Keighley, West Yorkshire – this is a very deprived town – we have Asian and White communities that dont mix, we have a high teen pregnancy rate and there is much alcohol and drug abuse. There are many women, who are precious in God’s sight, just as beautiful as the Lily of the Valley – their lives are lived in the shadows and they are trampled on and often do not count themselves as worthy of very much. That is why God gave us the name LILY OF THE VALLEY. We are a small charity that seeks to minister love and grace and value to women – married women, single mums, teen mums.
We have renovated a building in the centre of town – it is stunning, almost as stunning as God thinks these women are – red leather sofas, home made cake and coffee, fresh flowers and Kelly Warren cds. Our aim is simple – to listen and vaue – to pray and value – to serve and value – to love and go the extra mile because love always costs.
Our volunteers are from a number of local churches, and we are funded by regular donations, by one-off gifts, and by God’s ongoing faithful miraculous provision – like the time we needed £8,000 to pay our builder and we had £0 in the account -I gave him the cheque and told him to cash it in a week – the evening before D-day, there was an email in my inbox from someone wanting to give us £8,000!
Anyhow, God’s activites in these women’s lives is more profound than words can describe so pray for us, look at our website (www.liliesofthevalley.org.uk) and if any one wants to give us money, do get in touch 🙂
Oh, and we need a patroness – any ideas???
Lucinda Smith