Pumpkins and hanging in there

Yesterday, I walked past a beautiful, leafy pumpkin vine. Its leaves were a rich dark green and the stems were strong, ready to support an acre of pumpkins. Large bright orange and yellow blossoms dotted various parts of the plant, giving it just the right splash of color. It was beautiful. And shocking!

See, just a few months earlier, I had walked past the same vine and I was sure I was looking at a dying plant. There were no blossoms in sight, only yellowing and browning leaves that were full of holes. Sections of the vine looked like a series of large green spider webs. The leaves had been clipped from some of the stems, giving them an unnatural headless appearance that reminded me of the steel beams of ugly unfinished buildings. The plant was on its way out; I was sure of it.

I don’t know what the intervening events were—perhaps more water and nutrients or just the passage of time—but the vine communicated a clear and convincing message: amazing things can happen if you just hang in there.