Two falls ago, I planted a redbud and a flowering pear tree in my yard. After the winter had ended, I was looking forward to seeing the beautiful purple and white flowers outside my windows. But, as everything went from white to brown to green around me, the trees did nothing. There were no flowers, no signs of growth — just twigs. I assumed the two little trees were dead, so I called to ask for replacements. The lady helping me said, “Just wait. They are spending all of their effort on growing their roots. It’s not their time to flower.”
All of their redbud buddies and flowering pear friends were covered in beautiful petals, and they were in a season of just growing roots.
Do you ever feel as though you are in the same field as them? Your friends and peers are blooming all around you and yet you are just showing twigs?
This past season has been like that for me. And I tell you what; it’s not fun.
But the quote by Ruth Chou Simons says it all, “You don’t have to be blooming to be growing.” And maybe the best growing season is not the one with all the outward showiness that gathers praise, but the one where you are developing, resetting or sustaining a strong foundation. A stronger system so that when the storms come or your season to bloom arises, you are ready.
Sometimes, the best season of growth is slow, hard, and unseen. The good news though is that it IS just a season.
The next spring, I was curious to see what would become of my little trees. When May hit, they had endless flowers. It was their time to bloom.
If you are not blooming, don’t think for a second that you are not growing. Dig deep into those new roots, until it’s your turn to bloom.
