The Lord’s Garden

A humble man owned an estate, and had a massive field.  He loved flowers and gardening, and decided to plant some seeds to make a beautiful garden.  He sent his servant to go to the market and buy all kinds of seeds for flowers, plants and trees too.

He sowed his seeds and planted some baby trees at various locations in his garden.  He would spend his days watching as the flowers grew, and tended daily to his garden.

One day, he noticed a beautiful orchid that had sprung up.  It had the most delightful colours.  He watched the orchid grow, and it seemed the orchid knew it was being watched, as it turned its shoots in the direction of the porch, where its lord often sat to watch.  It was so proud to have been noticed, and also to have been so wonderfully blessed with its many colours.

Across the field, a sunflower began to grow.  The sunflower grew much taller than the orchid, and all the other flowers envied the sunflower, including the orchid.  The Gardener also noticed the sunflower was growing so big, and watered and pruned it to encourage its growth.  He wondered how tall it would grow.  Maybe it would break a world record!

The orchid became depressed.  It was no longer the most attractive plant in its lord's garden.  Other beautiful plants had since sprung up.  There was even a whole bush of roses too, which smelt so beautiful, and some were recently privileged to be put into a vase and taken into the house.  

The orchid began to wither.  It had longed to be taken into the house, like the roses, but there were just too many other plants competing for the Gardener's attention.

Then one day, the Gardener came to the orchid and pruned and watered it.  He removed some weeds that had began to choke it.  The orchid lifted its stalk and began to blossom once again.  

As if knowing the words the orchid wanted to hear, the Gardener began to speak, "Oh, you're such a beautiful orchid.  This garden would not be the same without you.  See all the many colours in my garden.  All the beautiful scents that make this garden my favourite place to be.  Even the daisy, as small as it is, is irreplaceable.  I love each one of you...just the way you are."

From that day on, the orchid never compared itself to another flower.  It knew it was precious, unique and loved.  And it knew its purpose was to flourish and bear more seed for the gardener, so that his garden would always be filled with beautiful, scented flowers and plants.  It lived long enough to see its children taken into the house of the lord, to add colour, scent and glory to his home.

Before the orchid breathed its last, it took a moment to admire the sunflower.  It was indeed glorious, and its time was not yet.  The wind blew and the last of the multi-coloured orchid's petals was carried away to land at the soil of the sunflower.  It was a privileged meeting for the sunflower, who had always admired the orchid.

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