Wednesday, April 6, 2011

A Lesson from a Flower

A few months ago, I inherited a flower. At the time, I thought it was pretty, but a little confused. Rather than growing up straight like other flowers, the stem curved up then down and back up again with little red flowers at the end. It was cute in a Charlie Brown sort of way. I even thought of Linus' line in A Charlie Brown Christmas: "It's not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love." So out of all the flowers that I got to choose from, I chose the Charlie Brown one.

Much to my amazement, with a "little love," water, and sunshine, my confused flower was not so confused after all! Other bunches of flowers along the stem, which turned out to be a vine, started to come up. They blossomed and bloomed and even the leaves grew plump. As it turns out, it is not supposed to stand up straight like the "other" flowers. If it did, it wouldn't be nearly as beautiful.



P.S. Does anyone know what kind of flower this is? Thanks!

9 comments:

  1. I love your blog posts Sr. Monica, they remind me of life's little blessings.

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  2. Sister Monica,
    Thank you for your reflection. I don't know the name of the flower but I, too, have had "Charlie Brown plants" and they are the best. They teach us acceptance and patience... for them and then for ourselves and then for others. Thank you for your insights!

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  3. Isn't that true, Sister Anne Marie?! I never would have thought when I picked the plant that it teach so much.

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  4. The flower is beautiful. It's called a kalanchoe. Here's a link for info about the plant. I have one that absolutely looked horrible but with patience and watering it turned out beautiful. Mine blooms dainty little peach flowers and the vines keep getting longer and thicker. Enjoy!
    Karen Simmons

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  5. Thanks so much, Karen! The link is very helpful, too. Enjoy your flower as well!

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  6. I obviously need to let you take care of my seriously-wilting Christmas Cactus -- he could probably use a little of your love too. :)

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  7. I would be happy to care for your Christmas Cactus! :) Miss you.

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  8. I adore your blog and come here for inspiration.

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