The Bloom of the Irises

Above this blog you will find a picture of Irises in my front yard.   I display the picture not as a subtle pat on the back about my gardening skills or simply because Spring is here.  I share this picture because there is a story behind the Irises.   I planted these Irises last Spring, our first Spring in our home.  Our yard was bare of any perennials.   Since the Iris is one of my favorite perennials,  I wanted to have some Irises in our yard. 

One day, I visited with Carol, a member of our church congregation.  Since Carol was experiencing declining health and had become homebound,  I visited her regularly last Spring.  As I was going into her home,  I noticed that she had a yard full of Irises.    When I asked Carol about her Irises,  she generously offered to share them with me for our yard.    One day last Spring,  I made a trip to her home not to sit in her den but to dig in her yard.  With shovel and bucket in hand,  I journeyed to her back yard to dig up some of her Irises.   Carol stood on her back porch and watched my work with a look of approval.    A day or so later,  I planted the Irises in our front yard.      I am watching and waiting excitedly for the Irises Carol shared with me to be in full bloom.

A few weeks after I planted those Irises last Spring, Carol’s health took a turn for the worse.  She died last May at our local hospital.    I had the priviledge to be a part of her funeral in late May.   In this season when we celebrate the resurrection and Easter, I find myself thinking of Carol and that verse in John 12:24  that says:   

²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Thanks be to God for the wonder of  His handiwork and for the new life that is found in Christ for Carol and all who are in Christ Jesus.  Christ is risen, He is risen indeed.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   O God, we give you thanks for the wonder of your handiwork as Spring unfolds around us.   Give us eyes of faith to see the new life that is found for all who trust in you through your resurrection promises;  through Christ our Lord. Amen.