I was out trimming around the edges of my lawn and accidentally chopped off a stem from one of my balloon flower plants. I now have a little fence holding them up but at the time they were just sort of flopping over the edge of the grass. The little stem had some buds on it that look like small green balloons. They open up to show a multi-pointed bloom of several petals with yellow in the center.
I felt so bad as the little stem obviously had had much potential, but there it was lying limp in the grass. What to do? Well, why not give it a chance to be all it could be? I brought it in the house and placed it in a sunny window in a small glass container with some water...and waited.
What a nice surprise when the buds began to open, finally filling that little stem with several blossoms about half the size of the ones outside. They were delicate and perfect and I was so happy I didn't just gather up that stem with the grass trimmings and toss it in the yard waste bin.
Potential...given a fair chance, don't we all have potential? The handicapped child, the sad-looking stray looking longingly out of a cage at the pound, the person who may have not been blessed with physical beauty, a person who has aged beyond their "prime," Each look less than promising. Given some attention and loving care, they can "blossom". It's what's inside that counts and, just like that sad little stem lying on the ground, "beauty" is there if given the chance to bloom.
