The azaleas are gone. The splendor of color that danced through the neighborhood just a couple of weeks ago only lasted a few days. Scarlet blooms blazed around the base of pine trees and mingled with the hues of cotton candy. Brilliant white petals fairly glistened in the morning sunshine outperformed only by the glory of dogwoods as their buds stretched awake from their winter sleep.
I always feel a bit sad when the azaleas are gone. For a twinkling, a wash of melancholy keeps me from seeing the impressive replacements. When I regain my focus on the newness of spring, I see a kind of persistence emerging. Like new military recruits marching into boot camp with enthusiasm and energy, the iris and knock-out roses stand tall and proud. New tinges of color appear all along my walking path and decorate homes as far as I can see. Each yard is filled with different tints of grasses, and the trees are reaching to the clouds as if to worship with outstretched arms.
In the warmth of spring days, I often wish for longer seasons. I find it hard to imagine how the fall will bring fading and wilting – eventually leading me to contemplate my own mortality. In those moments, the winters of life, I ache for things everlasting.
“All people are like grass,” Peter tells the new Christians, “and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall; but the word of the Lord endures forever.” (1 Peter 1:23-25, NIV) Believers have been born into a new springtime, born of seed that never dies, and designed to bloom into eternity.
I don’t know if heaven has azaleas, but I do know that the glory of God far surpasses any colors of our spring. I expect blazing hues and brilliant glistening where all sadness is gone and life persists with tinges of splendor. I am excited to think of our future where there will never be fading, wilting or winter-like death. It all makes my heart want to dance through the neighborhood all of my days and reach to the clouds worshiping with outstretched arms!
Looking for new colors,
Pastor Beth
I always feel a bit sad when the azaleas are gone. For a twinkling, a wash of melancholy keeps me from seeing the impressive replacements. When I regain my focus on the newness of spring, I see a kind of persistence emerging. Like new military recruits marching into boot camp with enthusiasm and energy, the iris and knock-out roses stand tall and proud. New tinges of color appear all along my walking path and decorate homes as far as I can see. Each yard is filled with different tints of grasses, and the trees are reaching to the clouds as if to worship with outstretched arms.
In the warmth of spring days, I often wish for longer seasons. I find it hard to imagine how the fall will bring fading and wilting – eventually leading me to contemplate my own mortality. In those moments, the winters of life, I ache for things everlasting.
“All people are like grass,” Peter tells the new Christians, “and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall; but the word of the Lord endures forever.” (1 Peter 1:23-25, NIV) Believers have been born into a new springtime, born of seed that never dies, and designed to bloom into eternity.
I don’t know if heaven has azaleas, but I do know that the glory of God far surpasses any colors of our spring. I expect blazing hues and brilliant glistening where all sadness is gone and life persists with tinges of splendor. I am excited to think of our future where there will never be fading, wilting or winter-like death. It all makes my heart want to dance through the neighborhood all of my days and reach to the clouds worshiping with outstretched arms!
Looking for new colors,
Pastor Beth
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