Thoughts: Hannah's Blog

Each plant in my balcony has a story to tell. Some of failure and death, some of second chances and good yields. Today I thought of sharing about the red hibiscus.

My mom had always wanted a red hibiscus plant. She likes it and it brings out her childhood memories I guess. We used to have it in my grandparent’s house.

There used to be a plant seller right outside our apartment with his push vehicle. One day during our evening walk, my son and me checked it to see if there were any red hibiscus plants. There was only one – teeming with so many buds. I decided to get it. Kept it outside the house and wanted to surprise mom with it, so I went down and messaged, asking her to open the door. She did not see my messages. Then I finally called. She did not pick my call. I decided I’m not good with surprises, so I finally walked back home with my son and rang the bell and we both yelled surprise when she opened the door.

She had one look at the plant and said something along the lines of: “this is not what I was talking about. The one we used to have is of a single layer and the leaves are different. This looks like a layered one.” (It wasn’t harsh, she was just stating the facts) That’s when I had a closer look and realised I had made a mistake, this was not the one she liked. I just picked it in a hurry and as it was the last red one with the seller, I didn’t want to miss it. 

It came in a black plastic bag so I thought of transferring it to a bigger pot. I must tell you I’m very bad at re-potting the plants. I have a very high rate of killing it. Despite past failures, I decided to do it anyway as it wasn’t her favourite plant after all and it is ok even if it dies. I hadn’t taken out the right amount of soil out of the pot, so the plant’s roots were sticking out. Also it was heavy and by the time I was done potting, it was slanting at a dangerous angle. I was very skeptical about it’s survival.

Then came the bugs, white bugs, black bugs, all concentrating on the buds! And the buds started falling out one after the other. I tried different pesticides, It would go away for a while then come back with a vengeance. I used to spray once a week. All the buds that was there while purchasing, all fell out. Then new buds appeared, again the same fate. It will grow big for a while but will fall out before opening. Some leaves also started falling out. I stopped looking into the plant much but I did continue watering it though.

One fine day, one bud remained longer than usual. Almost a month, but it never opened. I thought it would face the same fate as the others but it defied all odds and finally bloomed! And what a beauty it was! A rich red colour and so many layers that we couldn’t see the centre. One of my artistic friends described that it looked like silk. We were so surprised that it came out that way. We had no idea that such a beauty could exist in such a hopeless condition.

It made me think of the Master Gardener and how he is capable of bringing beauty out of Ashes.

he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. – Isaiah 61: 3

No matter who has given up on you and no matter how bleak your current situation seems, take heart. God has not given up on you, he is still taking care of you, sustaining you and carrying you when you are not able to carry on by yourself. And he is going to bring out something beautiful out of this, something you would have never even imagined.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. – Isaiah 55: 9.

You may be facing setbacks, there may be things that are stealing your joy and worries trying to eat away your peace. This situation is temporary, there are better days ahead. Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning. Don’t give up, don’t be disheartened. Your time to bloom will come.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. – Ephesians 3:20.