January 14, 2008

The Reward of Waiting

A few years ago I received paper whites and amaryllis bulbs as a gift from my mother. She planted some the same cold January weekend as me. I was excited about watching my bulbs grow and bloom during the long winter days. I faithfully watered the bulbs per the instructions. I checked them every day expecting to see new growth.

But one of my amaryllis bulbs was not growing. It was just there–no change. Nevertheless I continued to water it and compared it to the other bulbs. Then one day my mother came by to look at my plants; she showed me that it was indeed growing!

So many times we give up too early. We don’t let enough time pass for our desire and hope to come to fruition. We get impatient, sad, and frustrated. But if we would wait without giving up, we would see that our dreams do come true. We would discover that what we long for is possible.

I almost dumped the dirt and the bulb in the trash. Because I did not, I had a beautiful bloom to remind me of a valuable lesson–giving up means missing out.

"Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD." (Psalm 27:14)

(Taken from the online book Grace in The Wilderness © 2008 tfchistory.com)