Dead Beginnings

Earlier in the year, I tried my hand at growing plants in my room. It was an interesting endeavor and though not too far from my norm, I was trying to start from scratch. I had my little plant family all planned. I had cleaned several jars. I had even rearranged my room so that the light from my windows were accessible.

My collection began with an itty bitty creeping jenny plant. I was thrilled a few weeks later when three of my containers were bursting with green color as sneaky little herby vines had grown out to meet the sunlight- and they brought friends! You couldn’t tell me a thing. I was the plant master.

However, the opposite was true for my purple queens. I had pinched off two little pieces from a larger and shriveled up purple queen outside and my goal was to bring it back to life. Both pieces were less than two inches in length and they seemed to keep shrinking….or dying. I was discouraged and started to doubt. I even doubted the success I had with the other plants. “Anybody can grow vines, just throw ‘em in the dirt,” I mumbled to myself. But when I called my momma and told her they had died, she said “it’ll come back, just water ‘em and leave ‘em.” I also planted them in deeper dirt as she instructed and let them be.

A few days later, I saw the first signs of growth. That hopeful violet sprout peeped past the deadness and soon the other plant did the same. A few weeks later, they had sprouted several inches. Currently, they are both aiming at one foot in length. The same plants I almost threw away have returned just as my mom said they would. It was evident that i was supposed to learn something from this and I did; not only am I to never despise small beginnings, but it would do good for me to not shrink back when working with something that has been dying. Death is only the beginning.

My Purple Queens are thriving. They’ve even revealed some creeping jennys that were sleeping beneath.

Whatever your hope or dream, treat it tenderly and trust that your commitment will yield a return.

“It’ll come back.”

- Luevern B. Holmes