Just then she looked up the cliff beside the tiny waterfall. To her delighted surprise she saw a beautiful little plant. It was growing in a tiny crevice of rock and on its stem grew a single flower. Much-Afraid stared at the brilliant red petals. "What is your name, little flower? I have never seen another like you before?"
"My name is 'Bearing-with-Love,'" the little plant seemed to whisper. "But some call me Forgiveness."
Much-Afraid realized at once that this was the new lesson the Shepherd wanted her to learn. "Why is that your name?" she asked.
A little whispering laugh seemed to pass through its leaves. "I was taken away from my family and friends and put in the prison of this rock. The ones who did this left me alone, not caring what happened to me. But I didn't stop loveing, and Love helped me push through the crack. Now look at me! What flower is more blessed and satisfied than I?"
Much-Afraid looked at teh flower's tiny glowing petals and wanted to be like it was. She knelt beneath the imprisoned flower and whispered, "Here I am. My name will be Bearing-with-Love too. No matter how I am hurt or mistreated, I will choose to forgive."
Source: Hannah Hurnard - "Hind's Feet on High Places", arranged and illustrated for children, pp. 71-72
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