We had a weird, late spring cold snap last week, and my fruit trees were in full bloom. So I did what any gardener with OCD would do, I tarped them. I built a framework around the trees with some old plastic pipe that I had around the house, and used binder clips to secure the tarps.

I’m sure my neighbors thought I was crazy.

For two nights the temperature dipped under 30 degrees, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t get any cherries or apples this year. I was afraid that the blooms would freeze and just drop off the trees.

But my covering up saved them. On Friday morning, I took off the tarps and all the blooms looked up at me and smiled. They had been saved.

I have heard lots of conversation about covering up recently. Why do we still have to wear a mask in the church? I’ve been fully vaccinated. I’m not a threat to anyone. Can’t we just take the masks off and get back to normal?

I wish we could. I too have been fully vaccinated and would like to make it through the day without having my glasses fog up about 30 times! But I cover my nose and my mouth with a mask because it might help someone else.

I feel safe. But there are many who are not vaccinated yet, and it is possible that I could, while not affected myself, spread the vaccine to someone else.

Maybe some day we will learn there was no risk in being unmasked once you are vaccinated. But that day hasn’t arrived yet. And if there is a possibility that I can keep the virus from spreading and infecting even one other person, then I am all in.

I’m going to make an apple and cherry pie this summer. And when I take that first luscious bite, I’ll remember that I saved some of those blooms by covering up. And when the pandemic is over, I’ll remember that in some small why I may have saved someone’s life or at least lessened their misery by a very simple gesture.

In Christ,

Pastor John D. Morris