With great expectations

I finally planted the cabbage plants. They were straggly three weeks ago, an end of season sale. Today, when I finally made a concerted effort to find room in my abundant and tightly packed garden, I was unsure whether they will actually grow, being much reduced by the wait in their small container.

I admire their fortitude and survival as I place their root-bound bodies in the rich soil. Everything in its time, I think to myself.

I reflect on them as if they are a metaphor for gifts or talents, which often lie dormant, sometimes for years on end. I can only think that when we finally make a commitment to plant them, or develop that which is innately part of ourselves, that we give those gifts the opportunity to come to fruition.

In the end, it doesn't matter when we finally nurture our gifts, or the cabbage as the case may be. It matters only that we do so with intention that they will grow.

I will water the fledgling plants until they have taken hold.