The year before last my children bought me a miniature red rose for Valentine's Day. It's tiny little dime sized blooms covered the small planter and I enjoyed it very much, while it lasted. Most of the plants sold around holidays are force bloomed in hot house conditions and not meant to be kept around for very long. This was no exception. Within a short period of time, the petite rose bush whithered and the leaves grew brittle and dropped. It was nude and dying, it's branches black and shriveled. Sadly, I asked TM to quietly toss it in the garbage can so as not to upset the children.
Unbeknown to me, TM didn't trash the dead plant. Instead, he sat it near the base of one of our pecan trees and left it alone. I was sitting out on the porch one day months later and he came around the house with a small plant. I looked at it and couldn't believe my eyes- the rose was alive. Fresh green growth covered the top and there were even small buds starting to emerge. A plant that I was sure had died was alive, and not only that, it was thriving. It soon bloomed and grew. I transplanted it into another pot and it kept growing.
What was once a tiny 3 inch tall bush is now over a foot tall. It's first blossom of the season is about to open fully and it has many more tiny buds. Soon, it will be alive with brilliant red rose blossoms covering the deep green leaves. All from a 'dead' plant I had long ago given up on.
I have learned a lesson from my little plant. A lesson I very badly need to incorporate into my everyday life. I tend to go with the worst in things, rather than search for the good. And I often give up far before I should. I didn't fight for the rose, or even think about trying. It was gone, it was over, move on. Mind you, it was only a little plant from my children, but I do tend to do the same in life. It's something I really need to work on.
Persevere. Giving up is all too easy.
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