So, as many of you know if you follow me on Instagram, I recently went to a plant nursery with my boyfriend. But I didn’t go there just to take pictures (or get pictures taken of me lol)…

Yes, I became a plant mom. I did what I’ve always dreamed of doing, and bought a hibiscus plant, my all-time favorite flower.Which, to those who are not plant buyers, is a pretty decent investment. I even bought fertilizer for it because I thought, If I’m gonna do this like I said I would, I’m gonna do it RIGHT.

Here are a couple of facts about my new plant…

*Name: Reyna – I named her this because it means “queen” in Tagalog, the Filipino language (Yes, I’m half Filipino. If you didn’t know, now you know!)
*Favorite Things: Sitting in full sunlight and drinking lots of water
*Thrives on: 60-90 degree weather + this special fertilizer every week.

It’ll be a week tomorrow since I got Reyna, and these days have proved to be so interesting. From the first day, being paranoid that the neighborhood kids would come into our yard, and pick off the pretty flowers Reyna already had bloomed to thinking I might have killed her on the first couple days of being a plant mom after leaving her outside over night, and the temperature dropped 20 degrees (UGH), I have already learned so much as a new plant owner.

Lessons Learned (So Far)…

1. INVESTMENT. I said this already, but having a plant is an investment. Just like having a pet or a child. Only, a plant is WAY more affordable. Sure, the initial cost of a plant to some people may seem ridiculous. Add the fertilizer, and you’re realizing that you could’ve spent that money on getting your nails done. But all-in-all, you’re only needing 3 things for a plant most of the time: water, sunlight, and fertilizer. Eventually, maybe a bigger pot, but that won’t be for a while.
2. ATTENTION. Like having a pet or a child, a plant needs attention too. And since this is my favorite flower, I’m realizing I want to do all I can to keep it alive and well. So, I now think of the things I may not have thought of before, like the weather because maybe I could put Reyna outside or not.
3. YOUR BEST + TRUST. Within all of this, I have definitely worried a little more. Because I didn’t spend a good sum of money for this plant to die within the first week I got it, and I want to be able to learn to cultivate something I love. But I’ve had to really accept that I can only do my best to take care of Reyna, and trust that she will follow through with results from the care I’ve given.

Plant Perfectionist

PAUSE: I know, it may seem sorta weird that I’m referring to my plant as a “she,” and am describing her and the care I’m providing as if she were a child. But if people can do that with their pets, surely I can do this with my plant, okay? Also, I have definitely been obsessed with taking pictures of her growth every day…like, who am I? Who have I become?

Anyways, some of my perfectionist tendencies started to creep back into my life once the high of buying Reyna ended, and it was time to actually take care of her. I got really freaked out the second and third day I had her, because I’d left her outside overnight, not realizing it would be close to freezing outside. The flowers that had been in bloom originally had started to wither away, and I frantically brought her inside to see if the temperature would be warm enough.

Two days passed, and the only change there was was that the flowers had almost closed completely. Literally, this is what the flowers looked like, and I was really disappointed in my carelessness ALREADY…

Later one night, one of the flowers fell off of the plant on its own. I almost cried. And I wrote a poem about it…

“Reyna”

A flower just fell off my plant just now and I
Slightly feel like a failure.
Not even one full week of having her, and I
Can’t seem to take care of her.
The weather isn’t cooperating, she needs
More sun than what she’s getting.
I gave her water, tomorrow I’ll fertilize her, and just
Hope for the best that she doesn’t
Surrender the life she’s got left.
So, this is what it’s like to be in charge of something you love, something you’ve
Made an investment in.
A piece of my heart rests in her petals now, so many of them shut tight, eagerly waiting to bloom when the
Time, climate, and sunlight are just right.
Stay with me, Queen, God will see us through this indecisive weather change where
Winter seems to be coming back to have one more say before
Spring finally settles in and assists all of us in growing as we should.
You and I will survive this.
In His Hands, His care, we are
Good.

This all might sound silly to some of you as you’re reading this, but truly, if this past week has taught me anything, it’s that God cares about what we care about. Because, I won’t lie…there was a day when I watered Reyna, put her in front of my bedroom window for some sunlight, and prayed, Okay, God, I’ve done what I can. I’m leaving the results up to You.

I had some doubts that God would want to actually do anything about Reyna since, seriously, there are so many other things in this world going on that are way more important than the health and life of my newly acquired plant.

And I came home from work to find Reyna like this in my bedroom…

My Reyna B L O O M E D. So much 😭 I literally let out a squeal when I walked in and saw her like this! And it made me think of how Honey, my stepmom, texted me and my sister last week about how she’d lost a diamond from her wedding ring, and she’d been upset, but surrendered the fact that it was missing to the Lord. He’d allowed my dad to find it not too long after! These two events inspired me to write a poem about how God cares about what we care about because His love and mercy towards us are so great!

“He cares.”

God cares about the things we care about.
Even in the little things, like missing rings and fading flowers,
He desires for us to realize we aren’t in control, and to
Surrender the power we think we have back into His Hands.
He is capable of taking impossible things and situations, and
Turning them around for our favor and
His praise. He doesn’t have to satisfy our wants, but sometimes (within His will)
He does it anyway because He loves us
Endlessly.
He revives our weary souls when we’re wilting, He
Feeds us when we’re hungry, even
When we’ve gotten lost due to our own decisions, He
Leads us back to His Heart.
So, the next time you have a concern don’t think, “God doesn’t care about that!
It’s not significant enough to matter.”
Simply calm your worries,
Leave the results in His Hands, and
Understand that, if it’s in His will to do it,
He can and He will fulfill it
Just for you.
For the sake of Love.
Because He cares.

Super grateful for the grace to keep learning how to take care of Reyna, and also reflect on the reminders of God’s care for me as I do so! And to end this post, here’s two more pictures of what Reyna currently looks like. 😍🌺

Yes, those are new flowers that have bloomed!