Where you and I, will grow.

The dawn arose at the stroke of seven in the morning, and the clouds of yesterday started to vanish. I could feel the moisture in the atmosphere, as I sat upon the grass gazing at the flower pot near the side of my house, with marigold flowers blooming from the soil inside the pot. As I looked at the flowers starting to truly blossom, I noticed how the sky wasn’t shrouded by the storm clouds, and my heart started to rejoice as my skin was touched by the gentle rays of the sun. The veil over the heavens had dispersed, and the day seemed all the clearer. Though the ground was damp from the pouring rain of yesterday, I seemed to enjoy sitting in it as I soaked up the summer sun early in the morning.

“My heart has endured so much. I’ve lost my mom recently due to cancer, and my dad has been stricken ill. My sister has worried ceaselessly over what will happen next, and how all things are going to work out. It’s been difficult after all the thoughts and feelings stirring within my heart about what was, what is, and what will be, to not have to incessantly think on the topics and have some peace of mind. Such a blessing. My heart feels like it's endured a storm, much less actually having to see the storm in real time,” I thought to myself.

“Mary, Mary, please come quickly! I need to talk to you about what’s going on, and what just happened! Our dog, Buster, has become sick! The doctor says it’s going to cost a fortune to fix all of this! How are we going to pay for this? Our situation is a mess!” my Sister came out fretting.

I merely gazed at her, I sat upon the grass. I turned my head, and continued to look at the Marigold. “Mary, on the contrary, is going to sit quietly upon the grass and not fret over the situation. Anxiety is a terrible thing to hold on to, Rose. You can’t expect to bloom if you’re fretting over the process!” I responded gently.

Rose just looked at me. “Have you lost your mind? How can you remain calm in a situation like this? There are too many things to do, and we need to get them done soon! How can you just sit there and act so nonchalant about all our problems? We have things to do, and tasks that need to be done! You can't expect to just sit idly back and expect anything to happen when you’re doing nothing!” Rose stated.

I took in her words, and pondered her constant fretting over all that we were enduring. The straining, the striving, the constant depriving! I might as well have called the three men who randomly sat in a tub for no apparent reason while I was at it to help us solve the insanity with one shoe off and one shoe on, given her approach! “Rose, look at this marigold flower! Do you see how it’s blooming? How do flowers become flowers?” I asked her. She looked at me with a weird gaze. “They are planted as seeds, and then they need both rain and shine to be able to bloom?” Rose said inquisitively.

I flashed a smile at her with a bold confidence and replied “Now you understand! You’re a flower in the midst of my garden, just like this marigold right here. Whether rain or shine, even if it's all going wrong or it's all fine, you and I are planted, growing, and thriving into the beautiful, wise, and strong women we both know and want to become. You, are a rose in my garden, and my garden not only endures but grows, blooms, prospers in the midst of the harshest of storms.”