PEOPLE ARE LIKE PLANTS

Written By: Perla Aviles

Hi guys!

First things first, I am exhausted!!!!! I’m off from work today and I had planned to stay home and have a relaxing day, however, things didn’t go as planned and I’m glad! I was able to relax while watching the rain, I was able to swim in a pool, and spend time with some of my favorite people while eating some delicious food. Literally the best way to spend my extended weekend. 

It’s currently about to be 10 o’ clock, and everyone is sleeping at home, it’s raining outside and I have my favorite headphones on while tucked in bed with my laptop on my lap, and, as usual, some crazy bun going on my head (LOL).  There is no other better time for some inspiration to come my way!

I wanted to do something a little different this time. I wanted to tell you a little more about myself, and it might be a little embarrassing to admit but here we go; I couldn’t grow a plant to safe my life. My planting skills were so bad that I used to kill cactuses. Cactuses guys!! You might be thinking, “what’s so bad about that?,” well, my mom has a green thumb and so does my maternal grandmother and pretty much a  majority of people around me. How in the world did I kept getting it wrong? For so many years my poor husband has supported my plant obsession and has watched each and every plant slowly decay before it even hit a month of being in our apartment. 

Every time he would give me the same look of, “here we go again, let’s see how long this one lasts.” I could feel within me that, even though I loved the idea of growing plants and keeping them alive, I actually couldn’t. I wondered so many times again, “what am I doing wrong?” the truth is I never even bothered to look at the instructions or research about the plants. I always thought, “just add some water and put some dirt in it and its done.” Well, it was quite frustrating to continue to spend money on plants that I knew within me were eventually going to die. But the crazy part about all this is that I actually never gave up trying to buy new plants and maintain them alive over and over again. 

One day things changed. After I had my second daughter, I started to get more serious about buying plants, first purposely, and then researching about the type of plant, the type of care it required, the type of soil I needed, how often I should water them and how far or close from the windows I should place them. It was a lot of work to say the least. It was very overwhelming for me, but I was so determined to learn that I didn’t let the feelings stop me from trying. I started with some basic house plants, with 3 to be exact. One of my favorites it’s called philodendron, which is plant with heart-shaped leaves that can be tangled on different objects. I also got a peace lily which is a beautiful plant that eventually grows a white flower with a stem in the middle of it. 

Overall, I started to put more effort into their care, I started to dedicate more time to them, and I slowly started to see progress in their growth. Like my plants were actually growing!! I started to get more plants and I literally found repotting them, cleaning their leaves, and watering them so therapeutic. There is something soothing about putting my hands in the dirt, cutting off the dead leaves, cleaning the green leaves with a cloth while gently grabbing the plants in my hand, watering them, placing them in a new environment when needed, that feels peaceful and calming to me. Call me crazy, but I also like speaking to them as I do it. I even apologize when I have to cut a leave that is no longer alive. I literally sound like an old lady caring for my plant babies. 

I have a total of 15 plants so far and I truly enjoy caring for all of them. Some were given to me very small and fragile; some were only one leaf and I had to wait for them to grow roots to be able to plant them. If there is one thing that caring for my plants has taught me is patience. They bloom and grow each at their own pace and require different cares. I love each of them for different reasons and even more once I researched about the type of growth they have and the seasons they can thrive the most on. 

Let me tell you, plants are a lot like people. We are individually crafted, created, hand-picked by God, but we are all different. We grow different, at a different pace, at different rates, with different environments. How beautiful is growth that it doesn’t matter how fast or slow, it eventually shows. You can’t fake it because eventually the outcome of your growth will be demonstrated when you face situations, even when someone looks at you the way that I look at my plants. So, to conclude this entry I want to leave you with 7 things I have learned from plants:

1. Not all soils are suited for every plant. Everything that can help me grow, might not help you grow. The same soil that can be used for a garden outdoors might not be suitable for plants indoors in a pot. There are certain environments that might prevent your ability to grow and develop effectively. The soil in the outdoors contains more bacteria that can kill indoor plants. What makes other people grow might contaminate you and leave you stagnant. One way to know and discern what environment is hindering your growth can be found in God’s word which gives us general guidelines about places and people to stay away from or build boundaries around. One book I highly suggest is 1 of Corinthians. In 1 of Corinthians 15:33 tells us, “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’”

2. Plants come in all shape and sizes and so do people. It doesn’t make you any less beautiful or important. Learn to love the physical person God created you to be. This world has a way of twisting beauty standards and forces us to compare ourselves to others physically to the point of measuring our value by the size of our waist. Don’t fall into the trap of this world and corrupt yourself with unrealistic beauty standards. You are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” There was much thought put into creating you!

3. Not all plants grow at the same rate neither do people. Don’t compare your growth to others, you’re a different type of plant! If there is one thing I have learned from counseling people and observing “trends” on social media is that this culture has convinced people that growth is a linear path and that everyone should follow the same. I have seen some mature people at 20 and some naive people in their 40’s. Growth is individual and very personal. It most definitely can be very painful overall. 

4. Plants need roots to be able to be anchored and so do people. What anchors you? I can tell you what anchors me, JESUS. The best comfort I have in life is that whatever I go through I will never have to go through it alone. Even when I don’t have the strength to overcome, I don’t have to do it alone. Even when I feel like my situation won’t change, I don’t have to do it alone. Even when I don’t have the words to express what’s inside of me, I don’t have to be alone. Thank you Jesus!

5. I cannot treat them the same and expect the same result. Fundamentally they all must be watered, fertilized, pruned, and planted. However, not all will be watered and fertilized at the time. Some can withstand longer times without water, some will need constant care. The same can be applied to people. The bible gives us some many examples on how people were treated differently, with the same fundamental biblical truths about relationships and loving one another, but God handled each differently.

6. Some things need to be trim, pruned and cut away to be able to grow. Plants actually do not mind being pruned; it doesn’t harm them because this keeps them healthy especially when this is done during growing seasons. Unlike plants, people do mind being pruned away. It’s painful and difficult to remove certain things, or even people that we love from our lives because eventually could affect our spiritual health and possibly prevent us from growing any further. However, like plants this keeps us healthy. Whenever, you feel God leading you to removed dead elements of your life that are hindering your growth I encourage you to look at it from a positive perspective of “this is for my health.” This might not remove the pain and grief that comes along with difficult changes but eventually it could help you accept them and eventually shift your perspective about them. 
7. If you overwater them, they will die. Sometimes we do a little too much, and instead of doing good it brings more harm. Have you ever been driven so much by fear that your actions were anxiety-driven? You continuously and religiously perform certain actions in hopes to eliminate a negative outcome in the future that was created by your own fears and insecurities. When we operate from this perspective it can do a lot of harm to ourselves and others. Our actions are coming from a place of fear rather than reasoning. When we are anxious or fearful, the cerebral cortex (which gives us reasoning) becomes impaired, and we are not able to make sound decisions for ourselves. Whatever it takes, whatever you do, make sure to leave it in God’s hands

Before I conclude this entry, I wanted to show you guys Lilly (my philodendron plant). She has been with me for 9 months now and she is thriving. I pray that just like Lilly, you’re able to experience growth in your life. I pray that whenever circumstances might seem dead, like the plants I was trying to grow, you never give up on trying over and over again. I pray you learn and that through those difficult seasons you apply the wisdom you earned to continue to move forward. Like always I want to leave you with the following quote for you to mediate on and think about,

“If speaking kindly to plants helps them grow, imagine what speaking kindly to humans can do.”

Unknown

With love, 

Perla