Nature’s Reminder: Resilience Blossoms

I have a poetic little story to share about this blossom.

Last winter we decided to pull our 2 hibiscus plants into the house. We read they would go dormant and they did. Come spring, after moving them back to the pool deck, they both turned a bit yellow as they re-adjusted, losing most of their leaves. The red one quickly recovered and started blooming like crazy. Sometimes 5 blossoms a day would pop up. Gorgeous!

But this one, the yellow one, not so much. It struggled and eventually dried up. Its branches snapped off in a storm and one tiny sprig remained, sticking out of a huge pot.

Notice the brittle and broken stems . . .

We revamped our walkway and added new pots filled with overflowing flowers. Everything looked amazing. But, there in the corner sat our broken yellow hibiscus, clinging to life with its last remaining stem, which had fallen to its side, laying on the soil. Every time I looked at it, I felt sad, but something kept whispering, “Don’t give up.” So I let it sit.

I continued to water it. It flooded twice during 2 crazy storms and developed a green funk on the soil at one point.

But then I noticed something. Green buds were appearing. As if it wanted oh-so-desperately to bloom again. I started to caress the little buds and send them little, “You can do it!” messages. The branch began growing, sideways, out of the pot. It looked pretty pathetic, but it was trying.

This morning I walked outside and yelled, “It bloomed!” startling my daughter as she finished her breakfast.

Here, my friends, is a symbol in perseverance, resilience, determination and healing. This is my forever sign of hope ? #nevergiveup