EDELWIESS!

      ‘Edelweiss Wildflower, PxHere.
 
Were you alive in 1965?  I was!  That was the year the movie ‘The Sound of Music’ premiered! It won 5 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director.  By 1966 it was the highest grossing movie of all time (300 million) and rated the 55^thgreatest American film by the American Film Institute for its ‘powerful and moving story, first rate music, and breathtaking scenery of Salzburg, Germany’.                                     
 
It is a story set in 1938 that follows Maria, a novice at an Austria convent who is hired to care for the 7 children of Captain George von Trapp.  Of course, she falls in love with the children AND the captain at a time when the Nazis invade their country.  The captain declines a naval command for the Nazis and decides it’s time to flee their beloved country.  The family becomes known as the von Trapp Family Singers.  In their last performance, the captain sings Edelweiss, a song that uses the Edelweiss wildflower (see photo above) as a metaphor for courage and resilience.  God gave this flower the ability to grow at high altitudes in the Austrian Alps in harsh, rocky environments and in extreme weather conditions.   It is the national symbol in Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania.  It served as a reminder to the von Trapp family that they too could be courageous and persevere as they seek to escape the Nazi annexation of their homeland. In the movie, their plan is to escape by climbing over the mountains to Switzerland.  Can you imagine what the captain was facing, taking his seven children and his wife over the mountains?   The following are the words of this beautiful song written for the movie by Rodgers and Hammerstein.  The captain sings:    
 
Edelweiss… 
Edelweiss… 
Every morning you greet me 
Small and white, clean and bright 
You look happy to meet me 
Blossom of snow 
May you bloom and grow 
Bloom and grow forever… 

Edelweiss… 
Edelweiss… 
Bless my homeland forever… 
Small and white, clean and bright 
You look happy to meet me 
Blossom of snow 
May you bloom and grow 
Bloom and grow forever… 

Edelweiss… 
Edelweiss… 
Bless my homeland forever…
 
Be encouraged by the Edelweiss wildflower.  Read the scriptures and realize that God has equipped you to be able to survive and prosper no matter what situation or environment you find yourself in.  As we face an uncertain America, be of good courage and persevere…
Remember, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’  Philippians 4:6-7.
 
And memorize Psalm 91.  Copy it and hang it on your wall!
It, like the metaphors in the ‘Book of Nature’ will give you great comfort.
 
‘Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Psalm 91:1-16.
 
REMEMBER THE EDELWEISS!