Winter Blooms – What’s Not To Love!

I saved this tiny handful of Azaleas from my front yard just before a hard freeze. They bloomed off season due to warm sunny temperatures in the midst of January. On my way to the mailbox I spied their stunning beauty against the gray and brown backdrop of a winter’s yard. I just had to rescue them from the forecasted hard freeze due that night. So I picked them and brought them inside to grace my kitchen window sill. Their beauty makes me smile each time I see them. I have taken several photos of them and shared their tenacious beauty on my social media accounts. These Azaleas have a history in my heart. Their very presence enlivens love, joy, and hope to me. At the very minimal, they had the courage to bloom in the midst of winter. And what’s NOT to love about an untimely winter’s bloom!

My Love Of Azaleas

My husband bought these particular Azaleas because they are my most favorite color of all the rest. White Azaleas are next in line because they compliment the colorful fuchsia hues. When we bought our piece of property that has been our home now for over 30 years we set out dozens of Azaleas. They were in gallon sized pots and we lined our property borders with them. Over the years the Azaleas grew over 10 feet tall and filled our home’s borders with a paradise of spring time blooms. The grandeur of their blooms lent themselves to many joyous occasions like birthdays, weddings, get wells, and even Valentine’s Day “I love you” bouquets. I never lost my love for these Azalea blooms.

My Loss Of Azaleas

We live in the south and are subject to the threat of hurricanes during their season. Unfortunately, we suffered a direct hit from the history making Hurricane Michael in October of 2018. Our hometown and neighboring counties and states were devastated by the ferocity of Michael’s Category 5 winds of over 160 miles per hour. Ninety-five percent of all our mature trees were downed or snapped in half. Needless to say our beautiful Azalea bushes, though they were large and well established, were also destroyed. I will never forget the immense sadness I felt after a lifetime of enjoying their spectacular blooms.

My Joy In Azaleas

In God’s mercy and grace, our lives were spared. The next year from ground level sprigs we saw a couple of brave little Azalea blooms peaking out to brighten our day. I absolutely cried. I was so overjoyed! Even now, over 3 years later, the few Azaleas that did survive Michael’s brutality, are no where near their once pinnacled height of 10 feet. Those few first post Michael Azalea blooms represents fortitude and the hope of rebuilding in my heart. It is like God telling me, “Even still, I leave a remnant.” How in the world could I just pass by these winter bloomed Azaleas and leave them to freeze to death. I could not!

My Hope Restored By Azaleas

This morning during my prayer and devotion time, I used their photographed beauty to showcase and share a scripture that touched my heart. These winter blooms that I love so well has become a symbolic challenge for me to become what they represent. I am encouraged to be that bloom in somebody else’s winter of soul to bring love, hope, and joy in a time that it is needed. A soul faces many brownish gray winters over a lifetime of years. How can you NOT share a cheerful bloom and the hope it represents in the midst of their winter? Be that winter bloom that brings again the promise of sunshine to inspire hope. These winter blooms also challenge me to have the fortitude to bloom against all the odds in the midst of trials. Sisters, when a flower against the odds in winter blooms – what’s NOT to love!