Just thinking

So you know those moments when the house is quiet and the neighbors finally have either left or sat down? Its in these little moments that I have time for thinking, just sitting and contemplating. Today such a moment has occurred. I am sitting here in my living room- looking out onto the balcony. I have just recently planted little flower pots to hang. The flowers still look great. I decided to go out there and give them some water, and to my great surprise, a plant that I was sure was dead (cause it snowed on it on Mother's Day weekend) is blooming! I still would give it water and constant care and love, and guess what it paid off.

Now that is what has me thinking. Its the thought about love. I decided that this little plant wasn't worthless. I kept feeding and watering it. I took care of it for a month while it looked brown and dead. There were all of 3 strands of green life for a little while. I was really sad that it looked so close to falling apart. I had specially picked this one out! I was excited and rushed it home to be loved and seen on the balcony. However, the snow covered it that May morning and froze it. Then when it thawed out, the sun beat down and turned it brown. I was so upset. However, I knew that it wasn't a lost cause. Nothing really ever is. People give up- they do it because its not working right, or its too hard. But I cared- I didn't just walk off. I took care of it, showed it love, and continued with patience. I now have a blooming little plant. While half of it may be dead- all it will take is some pruning- and with time, it will be healed.

This story stems from the fact that this is not the only thing I care for. This small plant is not the only thing that requires me to work at it. My relationships with others are a large portion of daily work. What would relationships be without some care and maintenance. Nothing is perfect, nothing ever runs super smooth. The honest secret is, that life makes things hard, we as a humans choose to stick around and make the best of things, or we give up and hide. I don't quit. I don't give up when things look wasted and hard. When things don't go my way, I push harder. It is how I was raised. It isn't in my personality to give up. I hold on to the little plant and make sure it has what it needs- just as I care for those relationships. Do they need more time, more love, more encouragement? Do they need me to back up and give space, do they need me to do something extraordinary? Without the work we put in, nothing would really work out. Its seamless, but it requires a lot of giving.

However, while thinking about this. I realize that the plant could have died. There could have been no blossoms on it. It could have remained dead. In this case, we don't necessarily give up- but we have to walk away. So sometimes I wonder, if we should let go and walk away sooner- or are we supposed to hold on, until the plant shrivels and falls apart?