WALTHAM – Elizabeth Wilder Lillie has been blessed and she wants everyone to know it – and to share those blessings.

Thursday, April 06, 2000

WALTHAM – Elizabeth Wilder Lillie has been blessed and she wants everyone to know it – and to share those blessings.

Mrs. Lillie, who lives in rural Waltham and belongs to the Brownsdale United Methodist Church, has written "A Lifetime of God’s Blessings," which is a collection of her creative stories and personal experiences.

At the recent 20th annual Dexter Variety Show, Mrs. Lillie offered her book for sale.

Beginning with "Blessings in the Garden," Mrs. Lillie writes poetically from the heart:

"Winter has tightened his hold and all the world is still.

The sun, a frosty prism, shins on the window sill.

Warming the pots of tulips planted in faith one day,

that God with His ancient wisdom would again bring forth the blooms.

And winter would lose its ice grasp, turning my world into spring."

She has been writing for over 20 years. First, it was messages on cards that she circulated. Christmas seasonal messages and Easter ones, too.

However, a cousin at Greene, Iowa convinced her to have them assembled in a book and published and Mrs. Lillie agreed.

Her collection of inspirational messages includes a Bible passage. Their titles give some clue to the content: What A God, Transformation, Flowers, To God Be The Glory, Windfalls and more.

Some are long and some are very short. For instance, "God’s Handiwork."

It reads "Puss and I wandered out into the predawn darkness. Against the star-filled sky, God had hung His planet, Venus, to mark the morning. Later, He framed my world with a pink and blue border. He touched the eastern horizon with a touch of gold. Just as He has for ages past and will for pages to come. Together, Puss and I marveled that God would care enough to paint His world with such care. In gratitude, I said a silent prayer."

Mrs. Lillie has found inspiration in baking bread. As she kneads the bread dough, it reminds her how important yeast is to bread and how even though old "wet" yeast has been replaced by modern food technology’s "dry" yeast, yeast in any form is still a necessary ingredient in the recipe.

So, too, writes Mrs. Lillie is the Bible’s gospel the "yeast" that binds lives together.

Her cat, Fluff Ball, has become a celebrity of sorts. Mrs. Lillie mentioned the cat in a recent letter to the editor, where she expressed her opinion about temptation and the insensitivity of thieves.

According to Mrs. Lillie, the Bible’s Psalms and Book of Job are her favorites.

Her 42-page book of inspirational messages is available by contacting the author weekday mornings by calling (507) 477-3479. the price is $3 plus shipping and handling costs.