She was ready and said, “Hand me my lipstick.”

Seriously, Mama? Lipstick now?

“”Yes, the preacher is here.”

Mama went to be with Jesus a few hours later. She actually bled to death after being punctured internally during a routine medical procedure.

Now, when I tell you that Mama loved her some red lipstick, I mean, she loved red lipstick and wore it everyday. Honestly, I found it a bit odd. She was a homemaker, and we rarely went anywhere.

All my life Mama said, “Put on a little lipstick, and you will feel better.” I finally understand after 48 years of life on this earth and living 12 of those without her. She was actually right. Imagine that!!! My mother knowing more than me. HA HA!! The color red. It really symbolizes life-eternal life that my Savior paid for.

I was reminded of Mama’s lipstick one morning on a recent camping trip to the beach. I got up, put on my very red lipstick, the only kind Mama wore. and I did feel better for a little while, anyway. (It eventually wore off.) I put on my beach attire for the day including cover up, and took a leisurely walk-coffee in hand around the campground. People spoke. I stopped and chatted. I made it to the end of the campground where my friend was having coffee, and she burst out laughing. “Why do you have that lipstick on for the beach?”

“Cause my mama said it makes you feel better! And I do. I feel really good!”

Red- it was one of the colors God wanted in His sanctuary-His dwelling place among the people who lived in the Old Testament times. I studied the color red a little bit and found that the tiny creature, coccus illcis, is often used in textiles, especially in ancient Israel, where the creatures are prevalent, to achieve the deep red color that was used in the sanctuary fabrics.

I thank Jesus that we don’t need to go to a sanctuary to experience God now. He lives in those He has sealed with the Holy Spirit. His blood was shed so that we have access to the King of Kings at any time. That same power that rose Christ from the dead also abides in us, His children, when we accept Him as Lord and Savior of our lives.

Psalm 22 is sometimes called the Psalm of the Cross. It was written 1,000 years before Jesus’ cruxjfivtion. You will be blessed to read the whole Psalm. I have included portions in this post.

“For I am a worm and not a person. A disgrace to mankind and despised by people.

Psalm 22:6

A little research taught me that the Hebrew word actually used here was “TOLA’ ATH.” This means crimson or scarlet worm. The same animal we know as coccus illus. He created all things and through Him all things hold together. His every word is: breath of life-so important.

According to an April 2014 article, “The Crimson or Scarlet Worm,” in Kid’s Think and Believe, Too.” The female worm gives birth one time in her life and then, dies. However, just before giving birth, she will attach herself to a tree trunk or another piece of wood permanently by creating a hard crimson shell. The eggs are laid and the babies are hatched under that hard, permanent, protectant shell. The mother begins the dying process and “oozes red dye” before she, herself, dies. During these three days her babies feed off of her and become stronger. After three days the mother loses the dye, turns white, and the dead carcass falls off the tree, “The red dye not only stains the wood she is attached to but also her young children” for the rest of their lives.

God is so good. He is intentional in everything He does and says. He is a God of order and not of chaos. He loves us so much that he bled out and died for you and me so that we can have lasting relationship with Him! Hallelujah!!!

Mama was right, too; ladies, a little lipstick can, indeed, help you feel a little better. I no longer have her here to hold my hand (or dress me in yellow and cut my bangs that way), but Jesus has covered me with His blood, and I am safe and free for all eternity.

Work Cited

The crimson or scarlet worm ” alpha omega institute. Alpha Omega Institute. (2014, April 15). Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://www.discovercreation.org/blog/2011/11/20/the-crimson-or-scarlet-worm/.