CEDAR FALLS, IA — In the spring of 2004, Loretta Hinshaw stepped down as flower coordinator at Calvary Community Church, and someone handed me a binder. Nobody asked. The binder was just there. And so was I.

Twenty-two years later, I have sourced, arranged, transported, displayed, and disposed of flowers for 847 Sunday services, 112 funerals, 94 weddings, 31 holiday cantatas, and one church picnic that got rained out before anyone saw the centerpieces I spent nine hours on. I have done this cheerfully. I have done this with antihistamines.

“I am allergic to lilies. Easter is the longest Sunday of my year. I say this not for sympathy but for context.”

The recognition I have received in this time includes one bulletin footnote in 2011 that spelled my name “Donna,” a verbal thank-you at the 2019 women’s luncheon that was cut short due to a scheduling conflict, and a $15 Cracker Barrel gift card presented to me at the 2022 volunteer appreciation dinner alongside the parking lot attendant and a man who had only volunteered once.

I want to be clear: I am not resentful. I am called to this work in the same way the apostle Paul was called to his, except Paul got to write letters people still read and I get to negotiate wholesale peony pricing with a man named Gerald in Des Moines.

I will be stepping down when the Lord calls me home, or when Gerald retires. Whichever comes first. My binder is updated through 2029.

At press time, a new member had approached me after the service to say the flowers were “really pretty,” before asking if I knew who arranged them.