I saw on TV a boy who was very good at growing plants. I was watching it without thinking, but then there was something that caught my attention. It was his attitude toward plants.
The boy’s love for plants was different from other people; he even brought abandoned plants home to save them. It was impressive that he showed much attention to the plants and talked to them as if he was talking to someone he loved.
What the boy said in the interview was even more touching: “Plants are living things. It’s sad when a living thing dies.”
I admired the way the kid thought and felt ashamed of myself; because I recently let two sansevierias die. People say it is easy to take care of sansevierias, compared with other plants, but I let them wither because I didn’t take much care of them. While looking at the sansevierias sagging on one side of the living room, I thought, ‘They look dead. Will they become alive if I care about them?’
I wanted to give it a try and I was kind of excited, too.
I started an experiment from that day. Whenever I woke up in the morning, I went to the sansevierias and greeted them, “Cheer up! You can grow again.” In the first week, it felt awkward and I was too lazy to go see the sansevierias. That was probably why there was no change in them.
‘What am I doing? Will they be alive?’
I doubted, but I decided to see how it would go just for one month. I found out that they shouldn’t be in direct sunlight, so I moved them and watered them whenever it was time to water them.
About two weeks later, I saw something green in the pot. It was a new shoot from the sansevierias that I thought were dead. I was overwhelmed. I complimented the sansevierias on doing such a good job.
A month has passed now, and my two sansevierias have grown as big as my palm. You don’t know how pretty and lovely they are.
I think what saves life is caring. I will fully deliver the love I’ve received from God by caring each and every person, praying for them, and giving them the words of the water of life, cheer, and encouragement at the proper time.