As long as you still have life, you have a chance

Recently, I’ve taken up the new hobby of trying to be a “plant mom”. I really want a dog, but am not ready for that big of a commitment, so I’m starting with plants because typically they are less needy. I reached out to my linesisters with green thumbs and they suggested the best plants to start out with like Sansiveria, ZZ, bamboo, Pothos, Hoyas, Succulents because they are all low maintenance easy starter plants. My mom offered me a peace lily. I took it because it was free and seemed appropriate because I want my home to be a place of peace. I “creatively” named my new plant, Lily. She had a few little yellow leaves, but I pruned her ready to start our new life together, lol. See pic of her, before I adopted her.

This is the picture I sent to my linesisters asking if they thought I should adopt Lily. At the time I was hesitant because my mom called Lily “the death plant” and she already looked like she was dying in some places. My LSs encouraged me to take it and nurse it back to life. Little did I know Lily actually looked quite well here.

The first few weeks with Lily were great. I put her in my living room near a window and she brightened up the place by adding her green. When I would notice her start to wilt, I would give her some water and she would perk right back up. After some time though it seemed like she was wilting more often. I would check her soil and she would still be damp, so I didn’t want to overwater her. I googled “why is my peace lily wilting” and all the articles I read said that it was a sign of dehydration, so I would give Lily more water, but this time she never perked back up.

I started to get discouraged because I couldn’t find a Google explanation of what was wrong with her. She was wilting with no sign of getting better. See picture below.

Thinking Lily might be getting too much sun, I moved her away from the window more into the living room area, so she could still get some indirect sunlight.

I started talking about throwing her away. She was not getting better. I asked my linesisters with green thumbs and they said they had never been able to keep a peace lily alive, so I started thinking sadly it was Lily and she might not make it. She was really starting to look sad and it was messing with the vibe of my home. I told my mom I was thinking about throwing her away and she said no. She thought she just needed to be replanted. My mom wanted to try to revive Lily. It took my mom a few days, but she got some potting soil and a bigger pot to give Lily a second chance at life.

By this point Lily, had spread all out of the pot. She was limp all over but she was still GREEN. That was the thing, she looked like she was dying but only had a little yellow. From what I understand the sign of life in a plant is green and she definitely had that, but even my mom started to think she wouldn't make it. She replanted her and said if she did not show signs of change by the next day she would throw her away.

But change came and it came quickly. The night she was replanted basically all of Lily’s leaves laid horizontally. The next day my mom took a photo of her around 7:45am and she already had leaves that had started to stand vertically. See picture below.

Less than 24 hours after being replanted, Lily already started responding favorably.

My mom moved her back by the window to get some sunlight. Realizing, there was still hope we went to get her some Miracle Gro. When we came back, approximately 3 hours later (and still not a day since being replanted) Lily showed even more signs of improvement. She was getting stronger and looking healthier. See pic below.

Lily’s not giving up and neither should you. Whoever thought God would use a plant to illustrate a very important lesson… don’t quit!

Who would have thought God would use a plant for a visual lesson of how we should push through life. It does not matter what your life looks like. You might be cornered by life the same way Lily was squeezed by that small pot. You might be discouraged and feel like you’re wilting, but just like Lily you are still green. You’re alive, breathing, growing. You have a fighting chance, just don’t give up. Do something different. Try some new things, but whatever you do, don’t stop living, don’t stop trying. It’s not over.

I hope Lily’s story encourages someone today. It’s going to get better.