I was doing so well - or so I thought. After an entire year, I hadn't killed any plants! As someone who has never had a green thumb, this is a huge deal for me! From flowers to vegetables, I felt like I had it all down pat. So, I decided to take it a step further & venture into indoor plants.

I found an orchid on sale for $5 and thought I had hit the jackpot! I brought it home and went to Youtube to learn how to care for orchids. I got the right kind of pot, planting mix and orchid food, taking great pains to try & get everything just right. The next day, I was so sad to see the orchid wilting with two flowers already fallen off! I re-watched several Youtube videos to make sure that I was doing everything correctly.

Still, each day more flowers would fall off of the orchid, until one day, only one bloom was left (and even that one looked like it would fall at any moment.) Finally I had resigned myself to the fact that in life and in plant care, you win some & you lose some, and this was one was a loss. I shared on the air that I was planning to give this poor orchid a proper burial. (Another thing I'm learning about plant care: when you lose one, you take it very personally; in my case, I took it so personally that I wanted to have an orchid funeral - it's ok to laugh; I'm fully aware how weird I just made this whole thing.)

Later that day, I got a message from a listener named Susan. Susan informed me that it's common for orchids to drop their blooms - and it doesn't mean that the plant is dead, even if it looks that way. I was so relieved! "There's growth happening even if you can't see it," she said. "Sometimes the plant will need to be pruned and cut back to prepare for new growth, but just be patient."

I suddenly realized that this was more than just a lesson in orchid care. There are so many times when things seem helpless and hopeless, and we wonder if anything good can come out of this. Still, God is at work! No circumstance or situation is ever beyond His reach or rescue. Take comfort in the fact that whatever you're going through, God will get you through it and grow you through it!