Jan Weaver
An arrangement by Jan Weaver
Ferris Robinson
Jan Weaver has been struggling with illness for several years, but that certainly does not define her. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at a young age, she was shocked to learn the reason her hands had been shaking and her balance was off. No, that bombshell was not part of this gal’s plan, and the mother of three grown daughters and grandmother of five was understandably devastated.
An artist, she could no longer paint. Simple tasks of tying grandchildren’s shoes and using her phone to photograph precious moments became impossible. Her life changed, and yes, an important part of it was over.
“I struggled with this, fighting depression. I didn’t know how I could enjoy my life if I couldn’t be of use,” this creative woman said, adding that she asked God how He could possibly use her when she couldn’t even hold a paintbrush.
She didn’t turn to God in this crisis; clearly, she had never turned away. It seems He heard her out, let her grieve and rail and emote the way anyone would when diagnosed with an incurable illness. And then He told her she wasn’t the only one hurting. But God didn’t speak in general terms; He put a specific person on her heart, and she understood that she was to use the “lilies of the field,” literally, to encourage others.
Jan experienced an overwhelming sense of purpose as she set about creating a flower arrangement for the person God put, clear as day, on her heart. She prayed for this person, for peace and comfort and joy, as she selected blossoms and foliage and carefully snipped it. She didn’t settle for a quick walk around her beautiful yard, gathering blooms and greenery; she created large breathtaking arrangements one would select for a wedding, using exquisite floral stems.
She delivered her first arrangement to a person who was hurting. Jan didn’t know how or why, only that she’d been instructed to take a beautiful arrangement to someone. And you can imagine how she was received.
Once, she planned to deliver flowers on a certain day and had arranged her schedule around it. There was a kink in her plans, and she was unable to take the arrangement until the next day. When the recipient opened the door, she burst out in tears, explaining that this day, the day Jan did not plan to deliver flowers, was the anniversary of her husband’s death.
Telling this story, Jan just shrugged and said, “This happens all the time. All the time.”
This beautiful angel of a woman set out on God’s path that day. It was different than the routine she’d had before, the one that had suited her just fine. But now, Jan Weaver is on a mission, and has been for the past 10 years. Kym, her husband, supports her all the way.
“I just want the people He puts on my heart to know that no matter what, His order and beauty are still in the world, that God has a plan,” Jan explained.
Jan has delivered well over 600 of these arrangements to people she doesn’t always know. “I usually know nothing at all about any circumstances, only that God had put someone on my heart,” she said, adding that she doesn’t need to know anything at all in order to pray for them. Often she delivers to the same person more than once, sometimes four or more times over a few weeks or month. She is truly an instrument, simply obeying God’s instruction.
A young man named Brad was one of the men who worked with a construction crew at her house a few years ago. She made breakfast each morning for all of them, and they were all polite, but not like he was. “He was such a gentleman, thanking me over and over and clearing plates and offering to help me clean up,” she said. “When I heard he had died, I grieved for him terribly.”
She recently delivered flowers to Brad’s mother, although they don’t know each other at all. Neither did she know it was the month he had died. She simply lifted her up, praying for comfort and peace all afternoon, before offering a magnificent painting that she’d created with flowers.
Jan loves a verse in Ephesians 3:20. “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” And she trusts the power that is at work within her.
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Ferris Robinson is the author of three children’s books, “The Queen Who Banished Bugs,” “The Queen Who Accidentally Banished Birds,” and “Call Me Arthropod” in her pollinator series. “Making Arrangements” is her first novel. “Dogs and Love - Stories of Fidelity” is a collection of true tales about man’s best friend. Her website is ferrisrobinson.com and you can download a free pollinator poster there. She is the editor of The Lookout Mountain Mirror and The Signal Mountain Mirror.