He will do it!

Bible reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:28 –
“The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it!”

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.” Martin Luther King Jr.

When you plant a tiny shoot of Chinese Bamboo, you can’t expect to see any growth for the first 4(!) years of its life. Except for faithfully watering it, you won’t see any signs of growth. This may seem rather discouraging, but in the end it will pay off, for in the 5th year, the tree may even grow to a height of 80 feet! Only because of the tree’s deep root system, is it able to handle such a rapid growth.

Kristi Holl used the example of the Bamboo tree in her book Writer’s First Aid. It was such an encouragement for me! For the last two years I had been writing, writing, writing, and sending articles and stories out with only little success.

The Chinese Bamboo tree taught me to continue to faithfully water my gift of writing, and to remember I am putting down roots, in preparation for whatever tree the Lord God wants me to become.

As I’m entering my third year as a writer now, my prayer is that it will become a tree that provides shade, a place where people can relax and be revived from the heat of day; enjoyment and happiness, because of its beauty; but above all: gratefulness to the Creator of all things.

The only thing I can do at the moment is to have faith in God’s wisdom, knowing that He wants me to develop my writing roots. To accomplish that, I have to continue to work hard, keep writing, and leave the type of tree I will become up to Him!

“He who has faith has... an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well - even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly.” B.C. Forbes

© Petra van der Zande.