Two Miracles (part IV)

Four days later, I returned to hopefully capture another photograph of the hummingbird feeding off the Iris. I arrived at the botanical garden early and saw Shelly in the parking lot. I asked him about the Iris, and he told me the bloom had died, and he picked it off. He mentioned there must have been another bloom underneath it because a new bloom had opened.

I was excited about photographing the new bloom and hoped the hummingbird would come back. With all my equipment ready, I waited for her arrival. It began to drizzle a little bit, but I was determined to stay. I waited 15 minutes in the rain, and for some reason, I didn't have my face to the back of the camera. The hummingbird let her presence be known by the roar of her wings, but it was too late.  She buzzed around the Japanese Iris briefly before flying away. I was so disappointed.

During the hour and a half I waited, and she never returned. Although it had been drizzling the whole time, I was fortunate to have something to throw over my shoulders to keep me dry. I found another worker and told her Shelly should get the first bloom and press it for Jason’s mom. I left disappointed, but I think I may have one more try before the bloom is gone. 

I went back today, and the bloom had closed and wilted. I was disheartened, but I knew ahead of time that when the Lord allows me to photograph His divine appointments, they often occur only once. I am thankful for the two miracles He allowed me to document, and I will never forget the story. 

Two Miracles (part III)

A short time later, Shelly walked up. He said the flower had bloomed the day before. I told him I had been crying and then showed him the image on the back of my camera. To add to the miracle, he said he had never seen a hummingbird in the Iris garden. That doesn't surprise me. He said he was going to call Jason’s mom, and I asked him to please give her my email address. I want to print and mat the photo and give it to her.

Shelly walked away, and the next thing I knew, he was bringing a few workers to the Iris garden. I had met two of the workers before and showed them the image. Shelly had already told them the story of the hummingbird.   

I wanted to learn a little about Jason. I found an article about the wreck and his page from the funeral home’s website. I cried as I read the sweet things friends and family wrote about him. I read about the great guy Shelly told me about. From what I read, he knew the Lord, so he is in Heaven with Jesus, experiencing an incredible life.

Two Miracles (part I)

Just this week, I learned about a touching story. A curator, Shelly, at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia knew about my blog and thought I'd like to hear a story. He wanted to show me something in the Iris garden, and I followed behind. There were no flowers blooming in the vast garden until he pointed out an Iris with a closed bloom about to open.

He told me about the flower and the amazing story behind it. What could be so neat about an Iris in the garden? This story is of one miracle turned two. The story of the flower is special because of a young man named Jason, who was a former employee in the garden, and the Japanese Iris was his favorite.

Jason was killed in a car wreck on September 18, 2012. Shelly took Jason’s mom some Iris plants and planted them at her house the month after he died.

"Jason was the greatest person you would ever meet," Shelly said.

The first miracle is the flower bloomed a year and one day after he passed away, but there's more. No other iris flowers are blooming anywhere in the garden. That one flower stood amongst hundreds of other iris plants with no blooms at all. To add to the miracle, Shelly said that particular plant had been in the ground for at least four or five years and had never bloomed in September.