Lessons from a Rose

There is a rose bush beside our front gate that struggles. For about nine months out of the year it appears diseased and dying, and I grow close to digging it up and putting some jasmine in its place.

And every spring this rose bush surprises me with new growth that swells into the most perfect, voluptuous soft pink rose.

In a world where we expect immediate gratification, we are quick to give up, to move on, to fix and perfect and avoid any sense of stagnancy or dormancy in favor of exponential growth.

But nature does not bloom year round; there is a cycle between dormancy and growth. The key is to remember that both are temporary and both are necessary. Every storm passes and leaves moisture in it’s wake. Have patience that what you think and what you feel and the periods in your life that feel like they’ll last forever will change.