Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, March 1, 2026
It all began on December 27, 2025. A dear friend surprised me with a beautiful floral arrangement in a wide cylindrical vase. I was delighted with the Christmas bouquet, which contained several varieties of flowers with a small amount of greenery to back them up.
I put the arrangement on the counter in our kitchen where I could admire it often and tend it well. That meant keeping the water fresh, and removing flowers when they began to wilt. So my floral gift remained fresh and vibrant, while slowly diminishing in size and variety of blooms. I enjoyed it for weeks into the new year, even as it dwindled.
Finally we were down to baby’s breath (why is it called that?) and two sprays of greenery, so I transferred these to the small vase in the photo above. I finally wearied of the baby’s breath and tossed it, but decided to keep the foliage, because it stayed as fresh as the day I first received my gift.
Two weeks later I peered closely at the perky greenery, wondering if it was too perky! It looked suspiciously fresh, except for a small amount of yellow at its tips. Was that yellow there to start with, unnoticed with all the blooms in the bouquet? Was I staring at fake foliage? Perky plastic?
How embarrassing! I realized I’d been fooled by foliage. There it was, innocently standing in water it didn’t need and couldn’t use. I thought of emailing the kind friend who had given me the flowers, to tell her how we had enjoyed them for many weeks, and how I’d kept the remaining greenery in water to keep it alive, not realizing the joke was on me!
I didn’t get around to emailing my friend right away, and then I was glad I hadn’t – because I flip-flopped on my foliage thoughts. The yellow on my greenery seemed to have grown . . . or was I imagining that? I called in my husband for consultation and we huddled over the foliage to decide for sure whether it was fake or fresh. He even brought out his large magnifying glass. I peeled off one leaf, we dug into one of the stems with our fingernails. We still couldn’t tell what we had on our hands. It felt strong and fake . . . maybe.
It seemed so silly for two reasonably intelligent adults to be flummoxed by foliage! I finally thought of putting both stems in a plastic bag, which I tied shut. Today is now a few days later, and what you see in the photo is all that remains of my beautiful Christmas bouquet – two stems of yellowed greenery that limply fall over when I remove them from the vase.
At last we know that we have two stems of real greenery that remained resilient for over six weeks, only fading when deprived of air. I am relieved to be done with this dilemma, and ready to move on.
But not before mentioning that it has made me think of the time and thought and energy I have expended, trying to discern the true nature of my foliage. And its true nature has no impact on my present or future life!
How thankful I am that for the really important stuff, for what actually matters to my present and future life, God promises clarity:
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32 NKJV)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” (John 14:6-7)
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
(Proverbs 3:5-6)
As we step into a new day, a new week, and a new month, how good it is to know that God will guide and provide as we trust in Him, with all our hearts!