Years ago, I admired the beautiful plant my Mother-in-law had in her guest bathroom. She was nice enough to give me a clipping that quickly grew into a healthy plant. I kept that plant on a shelf in my bathroom for years, and every time I watered and tended it I thought of her. After she died that plant became an irreplaceable treasure.
A few years later when the plant began to wilt, I was terrified I might lose this living connection to my Mother-in-law. I did everything I could think of to save it, but nothing worked. One by one, it lost its leaves and faded until there was nothing left but a thick brown stem in the red flowerpot.
I thought about throwing the plant away, but hesitated, hoping against hope there was still some life left in that brown stem. I continued to water it, kept it in the sun, and watched for any sign of green, but none appeared.
Eventually I gave up. I was in the process of throwing the plant away when I noticed the tip of green poking up through the dirt –- not near the lifeless brown stem I’d been watching for weeks, but on the other side of the pot.
I’d been watching the wrong spot all along. The miracle occurred when and where I least expected it and I almost missed it because I’d been looking in the wrong place.
How about you? Take a moment and think about your life. What are you watching and waiting for? A new job? A car? Better health? A partner?
What if you’ve been so busy looking for what you want in just one place that you wouldn’t be able to see if it showed up in a different place, or in a different form? What might you have missed?
What if you decided to look at things a little differently?
What if you were willing to try something different, ask a different question, think a different thought? What if your miracle was already on the other side of the pot?
Why not take another look? You have no idea what might be waiting there for you.