I was startled into hope by a sturdy bloom. In a murky week filled with fatigue, overwhelm and heartache, I bought a small pot of Gerbera daisies, bright raspberry red to cheer me up. Somehow between the store and home I bent the stem of one of the three blossoms, a sharp bend at a ninety-degree angle. Sadly I apologized to the plant, assuming the flower on that stem would die within twenty-four hours. The next day, though, its rosy petals were as fresh as ever, despite an evident break in the stem. To my astonishment and wonder that blossom greeted me brilliantly for ten days, fading only when the other blooms, perched on fine straight stems, began to wither.
Each day that I sat at the table and saw that valiant stem my heart lifted. As I marveled aloud and thanked it for persevering, my heart unfurled even more. Hope lay in seeing, day after day, that vitality can endure beyond all reason. In remembering that life is mighty. In sensing that my simple wonder and gratitude could fortify that powerhouse and invigorate my own life, too.
Yes, perhaps we can do this…
