The Gardener and His Rose

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a gardener. He was growing petunias in his small garden, and he was taking good care of them, because the gardener was a good man.

One day, as he was happily watching his garden, he noticed a tiny plant sprouting in a hidden corner of his garden. The man was intrigued and, being a good gardener, he watered the new plant and waited patiently.

Summer came and by now, the gardener knew his plant was going to be a rose, but he was curious to see it bloom. The days grew warmer and the gardener would sit in his small garden admiring his beautiful petunias, but waiting for the rose. Until one morning, the gardener woke up to find a beautiful purple rose, with dewdrops on its petals, smiling back at him. The man was surprised, for no one in his village has ever grown a purple rose before, he couldn't understand how it happened... maybe the wind blew some seeds right in his garden... maybe he had planted some a long time ago and had forgotten. The gardener was intrigued. But he knew in his heart he had always wanted a rose, so he decided to take care of the rose, in the corner of his garden. Every morning he would come to check on his rose, and the rose welcomed him with new dewdrops and the brightest color.

The gardener told no one. But, as the rose was growing, he started to become afraid that the neighbors would notice the rose and think poorly of him for growing something else, other than petunias. For a little while, he cut some of the beautiful flowers and put them in a vase. But as the rose bush was still growing flowers in the garden, the man was growing afraid.

As fall was approaching, he decided the rose was a weed and it was not to grow in his garden anymore. He sprayed some weed killer and the poison was strong enough to kill the delicate rose. Winter was approaching and the first snow fell over the garden. The petunias died under the frosty cold, and the gardener was waiting, still looking at the corner where his beautiful rose once grew, hoping that maybe the poison he had regretted by now, wasn't strong enough, and that his rose would come back in the spring...

It was a long winter, the blizzard blew fiercely, and the gardener almost lost his hope that his garden would ever come back to life. He knew the petunias could not withstand such harsh cold, but he kept hoping for the rose.

At last, winter was going away, and the sweet scents of spring were dancing in the air, the birds were cheering up his morning, with their joyful sounds, and the air was growing warmer. All the other people in the village had lost their petunias as well, and there were no more seeds to be found.

One morning, as the gardener was watching the corner of his garden, where the rose once grew, he noticed new sprouts. The gardener was overcome with joy, he started telling all of his neighbors how he could actually grow the most delightful purple rose they had ever seen, and that their gardens would be saved, the village would be the most beautiful place on earth from now on.

Everyone gathered around the corner of the good man's garden, watching and waiting for the new sprouts to grow. And the new plant was growing... and growing, until one warm evening, when the gardener was savoring his cup of coffee alone, in his empty garden, he noticed the new plant was blooming...

Growing low to the ground and humble, with its tiny blue petals and a drop of yellow in the middle, the gardener knew at once his new flower was Forget-me-not...

The End

About "The Gardener and His Rose"

Time decides the value of a gift. A story about having the courage to believe in our dreams.

This story talks about having courage to believe in our dreams. Sometimes God sends us gifts we are not sure what to make of. Some gifts are pleasant and much needed, but some seem inconvenient and different than what is acceptable as a norm, by the world around us. God wants us to grow always, to take a step further on the narrow path, to stand tall and face our fears and grow the beautiful purple rose he places in our gardens for a reason.

Even when our fears are so hard to overcome, God's mercy still finds a way to blossom in our hearts.

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