16 Mar IBC Women’s Ministry Blog – March 16, 2023
Azaleas Bloom
By Jodie Montgomery
There are woods behind my house. I would like to line the woods, where yard and woods meet, with azaleas. I know the plants may look scraggly for most of the year, but when their time comes, they bloom, they bloom profusely. I think they bring us out of winter and into spring. They are a reminder that cold seasons pass and every creation has the power to bless.
I have a few small azalea bushes. They are Encore branded bushes and they bloom throughout the year. I’m impressed with the continual blooms, but any blooms seem more vivid to me when they mark the end of a dark season. I think of the blooms handed me through covered dishes given after my breast cancer surgery. I think of the blooming cards sent after the loss of a baby before I’d seen her face. I think of the blooms that embraced me, hugs, when my Grandma Burns died. I think of the blooming prayers voiced over the women’s ministry and I see the hope of spring, a time of light.
I walked with my grandson around the yard this week. He had a stick and we were hunting the crickets that come in mass and grow into huge orange locust beasts. My grandson got distracted by an azalea bloom. He said “I need to pick those flowers. What color do you like Gaga?” I told him “I like them all. I even like them staying on the bushes.” I guess I thought he might go after the blooms like he did the locusts. He talked about the colors. I was impressed with his vocabulary of beauty and his recognition of pretty. He wanted the very red. He picked one and brought it to me. He said “I want to give this to you. This is for you Gaga.” I asked if he wanted one too. He said “No, sometimes it is just for you.”
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.