The Season

A little over two weeks ago my husband brought home a large clear vase full of tulip bulbs. They had grown to half the height of the vase. They use no soil. All I had to do was keep the roots covered with water. I could put them right on my desk and watch them grow—a herald for spring, which is obviously some time away.

Or so I thought.

Every day for the next fourteen days I was amazed when I entered my office. The tulip plants were growing so fast, you could practically see the things in motion. I started measuring. For those fourteen days they grew at least an inch a day. About every three days I had to put in more water.

One day 13, I was looking down into the split leaves at the top, seeing if I could see any of the pink buds. Nothing. On day 14, I spotted them. On day 15, the bulbs began to pop out. The picture was taken on day 16. I’m sure by tomorrow morning they’ll be fully opened.

Why did they grow so fast? I’ve certainly never seen tulips grow that fast outside. For the last two weeks, it’s been cold outside (cold for northern California). I’ve run the heat all day in the house—keeping it at 70 degrees. Here, sheltered and warm, in the perfect, ripe environment, the plants came into their season and grew at an incredible pace.

Psalm 1:1-3 in the BPV (Brandilyn’s Prayer Version) reads:

How blessed am I because I do not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But my delight is in the law of the Lord,
And on His law I meditate day and night.
And I will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields fruit in its season.
My leaves do not wither,
And in whatever I do, I will prosper.

I love that line: “Which yields fruit in its season.”

I look back at the ten years I spent working so hard to learn the craft of fiction enough to be publishable, and I can see God’s hand with me all the way. I kicked a lot of cabinets and had a lot of frustrating moments. Quit more than once. But it wasn’t my season. There was work to be done in me, as well as work to be done in my craft. And just the right publisher needed to have that just right open slot that I could fill. God orchestrated all of this to come together—and my work in fiction came into its season. And as God would have it—once that season began, I grew fast. But then, I was surrounded by His care, and He had provided the environment in which I could do so.

Now, my “yielding fruit” season won’t necessarily look like anyone else’s. God has a distinct work to do in each of us. (Here’s hoping you won’t have to wait ten years!) And even the term “yielding fruit” from our writing can mean different things.

Every day I watched those tulips grow, I thought of Psalm 1. Yes, they’ve grown fast. But think how long those bulbs had been dormant, just waiting for their right time. And these beautiful tulips will last awhile, then be done. I’ll watch the flower colors fade, the petals wither and fall. But what God chooses to do through my writing in this fruitful season will not wither.

As long as it may be in coming, God’s season is worth waiting for. And when it comes, it's amazing.