Day 48 - A super bloom

Happy Easter! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Today, Easter Monday, may feel a bit of an anticlimax after the joy of Easter Day but it is still Easter and as Christians we are ‘Easter’ people. As the phrase goes, Jesus isn’t just for Christmas. Likewise, the resurrection isn’t just for Easter, resurrection hope is for every day. Jesus is for every day.

Looking back on Lent, the events of Holy week and Easter Sunday, let us take time to reflect. Our personal Lenten journey experiences may have been varied and diverse. For some, Lent may have been a time of personal or even Church reflection, refocussing on and renewal of our faith. For others, giving something up or taking on a new personal challenge may have been the focus. My personal challenge was to read Liz Dodd’s Lent book, ‘Easter in Disguise’ (as recommended in the latest edition of Refresh!). A challenging and thought provoking read but one I would recommend and, as I write, I am on schedule to complete it!

In addition to my reading during Lent, I made an effort to look for uplifting news stories as an antidote to the reports of depressing news that has dominated the media. One story on the BBC news website stood out. Death Valley, a Californian desert, is reportedly the hottest place on earth and the driest. During February, it had erupted in an abundance of golden and violet flowers - a ‘super bloom’ after a period of 10 years.

An unusually wet autumn in 2025, record rainfall of 2.41in (6.1cm) soaked the seeds below ground and washed off their protective coatings which in turn triggered sprouting. A dramatically wetter winter followed which provided the steady moisture needed for root development. The result – an impressive super bloom of Desert Gold flowers interspersed with brown-eyed primrose, grape soda lupine and desert star flora.

What seemingly was a barren, desolate environment had now blossomed with new life. We can make links with Jesus’s time in the wilderness and the ‘flowers’ of Death Valley representing hope and new life.

There are times in our lives, maybe now, that seem desolate and barren. Perhaps you are feeling a bit lost, not sure which direction to take in life or the overwhelming death, destruction and uncertainty of international conflicts is depleting you of hope and fostering a sense of despair.

But there is hope, there is respare, a revived word from the 1500’s meaning the opposite of despair. That hope is found in the death and resurrection of Jesus, our Lord, Saviour and King of Kings. The truth that Jesus has conquered all by his death on the cross is a reason to be thankful every day and for us to be Easter people with hope.

Despite outward appearances, the desert in California contained hidden life below its surface and Spring 2026 was the year it would burst forth in beautiful bloom. The flowers will be transient in nature but their root systems remain below ground, lying in dormancy and given favourable conditions will ‘super bloom’ once again.

Frequently, I find observing nature, whatever the season, provides moments of thankfulness and reconnection to God. We may not be able to travel to Death Valley itself and witness this spectacular bloom, but we can find hope in looking at new life around us, not just in nature but also everyday life.

Whilst writing this reflection, a couple of passages of scripture sprung to mind (pardon the pun!) and seemed fitting for this Mindfulness Monday of Easter week:

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Isaiah 43:19

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

So, however you may be feeling on this Easter Monday, take encouragement and renewed hope from these readings.

Happy Easter! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Cathryn Clarke