 This Utah State Flower was an unlikely symbol of hope for thousands in the 1800s. The bulbs had long been roasted, boiled or made into a porridge by Native Americans. They were used as a more mainstream life-saving food source when locusts ravaged every edible crop in Utah. The sego lily became the only available source of food for starving Mormon settlers – since locusts found the flowers distasteful. In the middle of the settlers despair and nearly certain death, the overlooked roots of this tiny flower became their rescuer.
We use it as a symbol of hope here to remind us of small things in our own lives that we might be overlooking which could make all the difference and nourish us now. The unobtrusive sego lily is also like the quiet healthy cells in your body – working, unseen, to bring us back to a state of health. Sego lilies can be propagated from newly-formed bulblets – but take two years to flower. We hope for this level of patience as our own bodies return to full bloom. |
No comments
The comments are closed.