What a Difference A Day Makes!

We have (or I should say, had) 3 tomato plants outside on my patio. We enjoyed going out and picking off a fresh tomato every once in a while.

Monday, my husband noticed that our plants were turning brown. Yes, it's well known within my family that I have a brown thumb; but he watered it anyway. We have had very hot, uncomfortable temperatures here in the last month or so, so he thought it just needed water.

On Tuesday, I went out to look at the plant, trying to figure out what was going on with it. As I looked closer, I saw a very ugly green caterpillar -and upon further examination, I saw 5 more. They were on my plants.

That day at work, I looked them up on google. All I typed in was "green caterpillars on tomato plants" and bingo - I found all kinds of websites about them. Even youtube videos. They are called "hornworms". Yep, they were the same exact ugly creature I saw on my tomato plant, and even the tomato plant on the video looked like mine. They totally destroy the plants by eating the leaves and sucking out any bit of sap and nutrients.

I couldn't believe it - in one day, ONE DAY, my plants looked like they needed a good watering to being almost totally decimated by these critters. Oh, they are so incredibly ugly too.

I got to thinking about how bitterness or holding onto grudges affects us. It sucks us dry - and ssometimes we don't even notice it. We grow accustomed to our excuses, our reasons and then when something happens, like a death of a loved one, all that comes to the surface again. We have to do something with it. But what?

Do we stuff it down all over again - and pretend that it's not there? Well, that only works until the next major event in our lives. Or do we deal with it head-on? Do we take the risk of rejection by reaching out to those who we have held a grudge against, or who hold a grudge against us?

Just like a day made a whole difference in the life of my poor tomato plants (a negative difference); this realization over the past few days, and confirmed today with some postings and contact on Facebook (the social app I love to hate) that I'm on the right track here.

Now comes the hard part - the actual application part. I'm taking a deep breath and hoping for the best.