My family moved into our current home in 2009. The house was built in the late 1980’s and many of the plants in the yard were well established. One of our favorite features is a cluster of azaleas that sits between two large oaks in our back yard. The two weeks when they display brilliant pink blossoms are a gift that would rival any azalea at Augusta National. I call them the “grand old ladies” of our back yard.

In the winter of 2022, we experienced an exceptionally late and frigid cold snap in mid-March. In a worst-case scenario, it had been quite warm for the previous two weeks, causing some of the plants to begin to sprout.  A few of the flowering plants started forming buds that were almost ready to bloom when the temperatures dropped from daytime highs in the low seventies into the twenties, and in the teens at night. This lasted for a full week before remotely moderate temperatures returned. I was really concerned when the azaleas barely showed signs of life for the entire spring and summer.

By the spring of 2023, I was really thinking about pulling them up and starting over, despite a few branches that showed signs of life here and there. By May they still looked pitiful, even a full year after the freeze. I was ready to take them out. On the day I was ready to do so, I noticed a group of small pink blooms on one branch of one azalea. Signs of Hope!

I put down my sheers and shovel and looked at them for a while. Maybe these ladies have more moxie than I realized? It was then I decided to just prune them here and there and leave them alone. Perhaps they just might resurrect themselves if given enough time?

In the spring of 2024, they had grown most of their leaves back, but there were still very few blooms. But this year, three years later, my patience was rewarded. These grand old ladies are back! Hot to trot, and pretty in pink!

As we prepare to enter Holy Week, we will experience moments of despair before we see signs of hope. Three years may be a long time to wait for blooms to return to a distressed plant, but probably not as long as the three days that Jesus was in the tomb, while Mary, the Disciples, and the world believed He was forever dead.

I encourage you to lean fully into the journey with Jesus to the cross…and beyond. Whatever you might be feeling hopeless about, give it to God, be patient, prune your attitude a little, and look for signs of hope.

Remember, this isn’t just the week of the Masters…it’s the Master’s Week! May it be filled with Holy moments for you as we anticipate the Glory of Easter Resurrection.

 With Great Expectation…

 Rev. Dr. David Weatherly

President/CEO