Father's Gift Becomes Lesson in Faith

With spring in the air, soon a beautiful azalea bush will produce its wide branches with lush blossoms somewhere between a hot pink and lavender blue.  Passersby will notice its lovely spring display in front of our old house, but few know the wonderful memory of my father the azalea brings to mind, and the principle of faith that memory represents to me.

My father was an avid gardener.  He not only enjoyed nurturing large beds of flowers and bushes, he also enjoyed eagerly sharing nature’s bounty with family, friends and neighbors. Dad brought four colors of daylilies, hearty geraniums, forsythias and the precious azalea bush to our old house, and some now thrive in yet another yard.

On his frequent visits to our old house, he would “make the rounds,” inspecting the flowers and bushes in our yard. I still “see” him tapping his cane on the brittle branches of the little azalea that had begun as a start from his bushes. I was ready to give up on its possibilities, but my father offered this advice: “Give it one more year.”  Fortunately, I followed his counsel, and now, years later, from what appeared an almost lifeless, little start, there is a large and vibrant azalea bush.  It is a wonderful illustration of God’s glorious created beauty and of the power of patient waiting in hope and faith.

For Christians, faith often requires believing in what we cannot see. We might be faced with difficult circumstances that offer little hope of a positive outcome. Perhaps someone we love has drifted away from God and shows no interest in rectifying that. Or, someone may need a job and applications produce no results. Surely we know people for whom medicine alone can offer no real remedy.

In times of hardship, God calls us to have faith in Him and the limitless power and love He pours out on those who seek Him.  Hebrews 11, perhaps the most often cited Bible chapter on faith, begins: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen ... and without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:1,6).

Jesus, too, exhorted his followers to “have faith in God” (Mark 11:22).  He spoke more specifically to Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus, encouraging her to believe even though her brother had died before Jesus came to her and her sister Mary.  He asked her two questions.  After declaring, “I am the resurrection and the life,” he inquired, “Do you believe this?”  Then the sisters and Jesus went to the tomb.  When Martha said there might be a stench, Jesus asked the same question a little differently.  “Did I not say to you, if you believe you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:25, 25, 40).  Even in the face of death itself, Jesus offered them the possibility that faith in Him could bring Lazarus back to life.  

We still drive by our old house in Florissant to see that azalea, still going strong for at least 25 years now.  Today, besides adding beauty when the earth “comes back to life” in the spring, this azalea bush serves as a living memorial to my father’s love, a continual reminder of the possibilities of hope and faith in God, even in discouraging times and overwhelmingly difficult situations.  Indeed, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). May we yet believe, “All things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27).