Never Say Never

Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not
labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in 
all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
(Luke 12:27)

Three Christmases ago a friend gave me an amaryllis that had tried to bloom while it was still in the box. As a result, the bulb already had a withered looking flower coming out the top of it and some leaves. 

The leaves grew long, but there were never any buds. When they started to turn brown, I trimmed them off and put the pot on the bottom of a planter next to the window.  

Soon the visible part of the bulb shrivelled up, but I could not bear to throw it out because I thought I could see a tiny bit of green inside it. Instead, I contiued watering it whenever I watered the other plants. 

One watering day, almost two years later, I saw a shoot coming up, so I put the pot back on the window sill.

That little shoot grew so fast, that five days later it was half way to the top of the window.

 
By the tenth day of this amazing growth spurt, the stalk was 24 inches high and it's swollen top was starting to open.









It wasn't long before four buds popped out and started unfurling, one by one, and by day 30 I had one of the most spectacular amaryllises I've ever owned.