I was walking down a very rocky road... a road that hadn't seen a fresh coat of tar in so long that the cracks seemed to trip me with every step I took.

Dark clouds seemed to follow me, but not a single drop dared to fall.

Though I had fellow travelers on my journey, at one point or another, they had either chosen the opposite path at the fork or followed the steep stairs to the sky.

So I walked alone.

My legs and arms were bruised from many falls and my heart sore from countless breaks.
I was a beaten soul.

Somewhere in the road ahead, the sun broke through the clouds and shined just a little light on two flowers... One flower was slightly larger than the other and shadowed it... almost in a motherly nature.

Both flowers had missing petals and the petals that remained were wilted and discolored.

Someone had been careless to this tiny garden.
Someone had planted these seeds and watered them just enough to sustain life, but not enough for them to thrive.

"How could someone do this?" I wondered.
I picked up the abandoned watering can that was placed next to them and tipped it. Nothing. It was empty.

I fell to my knees and for the first time in so long, I began to pray.

I spoke to God like I was speaking to my best friend.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Everything I touch dies."

"Why can't beautiful things bloom in my life?"

The tears fell like they had been building for years... and I guess they had.

A boom rolled through the clouds... and as if God, Himself, was crying with me... the skies opened up and poured down the most calming of rains.

The raincoated the flowers and the soil they sat in... filled the watering can... and filled my heart with something I hadn't felt in such a long time. Peace.

I turned my head up to the clouds and spoke loudly...

"I promise... I promise to never abandon these flowers like the previous caretaker did. I promise to allow them to bloom. In making that promise, I vow to move out of the way to allow the light to shine on them. I vow to stand above them when the rains get too heavy so that they can breathe. I promise and vow to feed the parts of them that starved for so long.

And lastly...
Lastly, I promise to understand that though the petals these flowers are missing may never return, they are still just as beautiful."