Oh Snap: The Squash that Wouldn’t Quit!

I almost gave up on my squash garden this week, but a little “husband-magic” and a lot of resilience proved me wrong.

The “Oh Snap” Moment:

My husband informed me the other day that the main stem of one of my squash plants had broken. He said the weight of the growth was too much for the weak, bent-over main stem to handle.

Because it was almost 100 degrees outside and the humidity felt like a wet blanket, I delayed tending to the matter. I figured I’d just come back to it later. This time, I actually remembered to take a photo for you all!

Still, I was a bit sad. I really love squash and was looking forward to growing and eating my own instead of relying on the grocery store ones. In my mind, the verdict was already in: I was going to discard the broken plant and reuse the 10-gallon fabric bag for something else. Since it was already “dead,” I was in no rush to clean it out.

A few days passed before I finally went out to take the photo and discard the plant. I had already started gathering my thoughts for a new blog post about this gardening mishap.

But when I stepped outside, that “dead” plant was standing. My husband had jimmy-rigged the stem back to the other parts of the plant! He said it wasn’t fully broken — it was hanging on by a thread.

Now, I saw that stem, or at least I thought I did. It looked completely gone to me. All bent over with withered leaves.

“No, I checked again and it still had a few threads hanging,” he insisted, “so I put it back together with the rest of the plant so it could grow back together.”

Sidenote: This is what happens when you marry a frugal, resourceful man. I was ready to trash it; he patched it back up.

As I looked at what he had done to my plant, I started thinking about life.

How often does the weight of things cause us to get bent over? How often do we look at a situation, a person, or even ourselves, and decide it’s done, broken, or beyond repair? We get ready to give up and let go.

But with just some garden string and a tomato cage, that squash stem is still there. I don’t know how it will ultimately turn out, but it just keeps holding on, even if by a thread.

It reminded me that what looks like the end is often just a moment that requires a little support and a bit of faith. Sometimes, what we thought was dead just needs a little help to stand up and grow again.

Later, as I was reflecting on how that plant defied the odds, a familiar scripture came to mind that fit the situation perfectly:

“Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again.” — Proverbs 24:16

Falling or failing doesn’t mean it’s the final word. It just means there’s still an opportunity to rise, to heal, and to flourish.

Rooting for the Underdog

That little plant’s unexpected resilience is a quiet reminder that God is often working behind the scenes, using the unexpected tools and people around us to hold us up when we feel fragile. I’m still watching that stem every day, rooting for it—not just because I want the squash, but because it’s proof that being ‘bent’ doesn’t mean you’re out of the running. Sometimes, we just need a little trust and a good patch job to bloom again.

Blessing: God specializes in the ‘hanging by a thread’ moments. Bent does not mean broken.

A Question for You:
Have you ever been surprised by a “comeback” in your garden — or in your own life — when you were ready to completely give up? Let’s chat in the comments below!