She told me about a bunch of roses she once had. They died, but for some reason she didn't throw them away. Instead she kept them, regularly changing the water and waiting. After several weeks caring for a bunch of dead flowers she noticed new shoots emerging from the stems and a tangle of fine roots reaching into the water. What had seemed lifeless was growing once more.
How often do we give up on situations or people too soon? We think they're stuck in their ways and there's no hope of any change. We've tried to reach them for years or tried to alter a situation with prayer and effort but nothing seems to happen so we give up, stop caring, throw the flowers away and move onto something or someone new.
Sometimes it takes a long time for new life to show itself; many unseen factors have to slot into place. Sometimes we'll never know the effect we have in this world, but we should never give up hope.
