Survivor

Sometime last spring.... May, I think... the rain subsided and the weeds they began to GROW. It was rather frightening how fast some areas were overtaken by them. So Bob got out his trusty weedeater and edger, and hacked them to bits. Then he doused the areas with heavy-duty weed killer (I know, I know.....) to keep them from coming back. They didn't.

Well.... except this ONE. I found it unfurling underneath the raised metal firepit about a month ago, just a scraggly little vine starting to wind around one of the legs. Two days later it was ginormous. It was then that I realized that it wasn't a weed at all, but a Clematis 'Evergreen' vine - a hardy vining plant that tends to do quite well here in the Northwest. We had never seen it there before, not even last summer when we first found our house. I dug the rootball up (it was really huge), split it down, and transplanted the thing into my rear patio windowbox. The window is in the laundry room and overlooks the back deck, and gets morning & afternoon sun. I thought it would be a perfect place to watch her grow.
It's been growing like gangbusters for the past month and looks so pretty there. A few days ago, this amazing blossom appeared. White. Ok, I have to tell you that it's pretty much a miracle plant because of it's story, but that white flower is the cherry on top. Nothing planted on this property is white. Nothing. It's all garish orange day lilies and bright red roses and pink & yellow blooming trees and purple heather. All SO not what I would choose. No white, no where, no how. And Deb does love white flowers.... so the appearance of this beauty really made me smile.

And then I started to think about this little plant...I was meant to find her. She was meant to survive. And suddenly, it became about more than a plant....

It's OK if we go unnoticed, and if we aren't located in the best, most spectacular place. It's OK if we get hacked down, and then doused with hard stuff that tries to kill us off or at least keep us from getting where we are trying to go. It's OK if we spend a long time developing deep roots to support us, and it's OK if the visible parts of us are nothing special.


Really. It's OK.


Because we are survivors. One grand day, the sun is gonna' shine on us, and we are going to grow leaps and bounds and start spreading out all over the place. And we're going to get noticed. And we'll end up in a location with a spotlight on us, right up at eye level, where our vision and destiny and worth will be evident. And in that setting, in that perfect place, we will blossom. And time will stand still while our blossom unfurls and spreads beauty to all who encounter it. And our story will encourage and inspire others to just.hang.in.there. until the sun does shine.

(I really love that 'sun shining' part!)

I don't know where you are right now. But I know where T is. I know where J and MB are. I know where we are. We've been hanging in there, and the sun is breaking through the clouds. It's almost time. Look at that photo of the blossom, and know that your time is coming - you are about to bloom into the fullness of all that you are meant to be. Wiggle your toes in that dirt and throw your leaves open wide, and get ready to soak it all in.

And GROW!