The Flower That Rose Again
Listening to Life, Ten Years Later
Encuentra la versión en español al final de esta página.
By Edwin Gil
This week has been a whirlwind.
My nephew Kevin’s illness.
The painful reality of a collapsed healthcare system in Colombia.
Multiple transformations happening all at once.
It has been a season of uncertainty, exhaustion, prayer, and reflection. A time that forces you to value health, presence, and every single minute we are given.
And in the middle of it all, life reminded me of something that happened ten years ago.
The Tulip in the Concrete (2016)
In 2016, I woke up late one morning and was rushing to work. My mind was already overwhelmed before the day had even begun. As I hurried toward my car, distracted and stressed, I stepped on something.
A flower.
It had grown through a crack in the concrete sidewalk.
I barely noticed it at that moment. I was too busy, too preoccupied, too caught up in my own urgency.
The day was exhausting. Full of challenges. One of those days that drains you physically and emotionally.
When I returned home that evening, something caught my attention.
The flower was still there.
Not only that — it was standing upright again.
The same tulip I had stepped on that morning had lifted itself back up. In the middle of the concrete. In the middle of adversity. After being crushed.
It was showing its beauty as if nothing had happened.
I stopped.
I breathed.
And I gave thanks to God for being alive. For my eyes. For the simple gift of being able to witness that lesson.
That tulip fought to be born through concrete. And even after I stepped on it, it rose again.
That day, life spoke.
And this time, I truly listened.
February 2026 — The Lesson Returns
Now, ten years later, January and February have once again been months of constant challenge for our family.
Kevin’s health has kept us in uncertainty.
Long nights.
Physical exhaustion.
Emotional fatigue.
Not knowing what tomorrow will bring.
We remain united through prayer and faith, but the human body and heart grow tired under prolonged uncertainty.
And then, this morning, something happened.
In the middle of winter — one of my plants bloomed.
Unexpectedly.
Quietly.
Beautifully.
That flower immediately brought me back to 2016.
To the tulip in the concrete.
To the lesson I once received and almost forgot.
Despite the cold.
Despite the pressure.
Despite being stepped on by circumstances beyond our control.
We can rise.
We can bloom.
We can shine.
The Beauty of Believing
There are moments in life when we don’t understand what is happening. When systems fail. When health collapses. When answers are unclear.
But faith does not require certainty.
Faith requires trust.
The tulip did not ask if it would survive the concrete.
My plant did not wait for perfect weather to bloom.
They simply did what they were created to do.
They grew.
They rose.
They showed their beauty.
Perhaps that is what life is asking of us right now.
To believe.
To continue.
To fight gently but persistently.
To bloom even when the season feels wrong.
A Message for You
Whatever you are facing today — uncertainty, illness, loss, exhaustion — I hope you remember this story.
There was a tulip that rose after being stepped on.
There was a plant that bloomed in winter.
And there is a strength inside you that perhaps you have not yet discovered.
Thank you for continuing to read this blog.
Thank you for sharing it with others.
May this reflection illuminate your path the same way that flower illuminated mine.
With gratitude,
Edwin Gil
La Flor que se Levantó de Nuevo
13 de Febrero, 2026
Escuchando la Vida, Diez Años Después
Por Edwin Gil
Esta semana ha sido una semana de locos.
La enfermedad de mi sobrino Kevin.
La realidad de un sistema de salud colapsado en Colombia.
Múltiples transformaciones ocurriendo al mismo tiempo.
Un tiempo que invita a reflexionar y a valorar más la salud y cada minuto de vida que tenemos.
Y en medio de todo esto, la vida me recordó algo que ocurrió hace diez años.
El Tulipán en el Concreto (2016)
En el 2016 me levanté tarde y corría al trabajo. En mi prisa, sin darme cuenta, pisé una flor que nacía entre el concreto de la acera.
Ese día fue agotador. Lleno de desafíos.
Cuando regresé a casa, la flor estaba de nuevo de pie.
El mismo tulipán que había pisado en la mañana se había levantado otra vez, mostrando su belleza en medio de la adversidad.
Me detuve. Respiré. Y di gracias a Dios por estar vivo y poder ver aquella lección frente a mis ojos.
Ese tulipán luchó para nacer en medio del concreto. Y después de haber sido pisoteado, se levantó nuevamente.
La vida habló.
Y yo escuché.
Febrero 2026 — La Lección se Repite
Hoy, diez años después, enero y febrero han sido meses de constantes desafíos para nuestra familia con el estado de salud de Kevin.
Incertidumbre.
Cansancio físico.
Unión a través de la oración.
Y la pregunta constante de qué pasará mañana.
Pero hoy, al despertar, una de mis plantas floreció en pleno invierno.
Y me recordó aquel tulipán.
Me recordó que, a pesar de las dificultades que vivamos, debemos creer, tener fe y seguir luchando para brillar — como ese tulipán de hace diez años, o como esta planta que hoy florece para recordarme la belleza de la vida.
Cualquiera que sea la situación que estés viviendo, espero que esta anécdota ilumine tu corazón.
Gracias por seguir leyendo este blog.
Gracias por compartirlo con otros.
Con gratitud,
Edwin Gil