Mimosa Trees

Have you ever compared mimosa trees and writers' dreams? I have.

Several years ago, I attended a writers’ conference in North Carolina. While driving with my husband from our home in Texas, north through Alabama on Interstate 85, my husband and I looked for blossoming mimosa trees along the road. We do this every time we drive through this area. Most years, the trees are covered with blooms in late spring. That year we were disappointed and surprised to find fewer than usual trees blooming.

As we tried to figure out what may have caused the lack of blooms, we considered several possibilities. Perhaps there was not enough rain that year. Maybe there was too much rain. Had the winter been colder than normal? Warmer than usual?

We’re certainly not horticulturists, so truly had no idea why the blossoms were delayed. All we knew was it wasn't the right time for the mimosa trees to bloom.

On our return trip home the following week, we spotted tree after beautiful tree full of blossoms. All it took was an additional week for the trees to burst out in all their splendid glory.

Writers’ Dreams

Having spent the week with over three hundred writers at the conference, I couldn’t help but make the comparison between those mimosa trees and writers’ dreams.

As writers, we’re all on different journeys. We don’t write in the same genre. We don’t create the same plot lines. Our characters are all different, as is our voice. Our sentence length and syntax are different.

When you become more familiar with my writing style through my posts, you will discover my sentences tend to lean on the longer side. You will notice the same if you visit my personal blog as well. I kiddingly blame my lengthy sentences on the Apostle Paul’s writing style.

Those of us who are writers don’t achieve our dreams, don’t blossom, at the same rate either. Some of us achieve our dreams earlier. Some of us achieve our dreams later. While some of us have a profusion of blossoms on our tree, others do not have as many.

And all of that is okay.

An important thing to remember as we write is this. Regardless of the number of blossoms, there is beauty in each tree. Each dream.

It doesn’t matter how successful or unsuccessful our writing may appear to others, or even to ourselves, our writing continues to be beautiful when we offer it up as a sacrifice for our Creator God’s purposes.

Trusting God’s Timing

I’ve found that when our hopes or dreams are delayed, we writers sometimes try to figure out the exact reason for the delay. We theorize that the reason for the delay is too much of this. Not enough of that. When honestly, in much the same way that my husband and I tried to figure out the cause of the delayed mimosa blooms, we writers often don’t have the slightest idea for the cause of our writing delays.

But you know what? If we trust our writing to God for the outcome, we really don’t need a reason, other than it’s just not God’s time, yet.

The One who told the moon when to shine and told the sun when to sleep, told the sea it could only come so far and no further, placed the stars in the heavens and put the bars around Orion, knows when our not yet time will turn into our it’s time.

The same God who knows the proper time for mimosa trees to bloom, knows when it is the proper time for our writing dreams to blossom.

Your Turn

As we wait for whatever writers’ dreams we hold dear to our heart, let’s remember the mimosa trees. They bloom at God’s appointed time. And so will the dreams we long to see fulfilled. They will not bloom one moment too early. Nor will they bloom one moment too late.

What writing dreams are you waiting on to bloom?

I wish you well.

Sandy

Hello, everyone. As a new writer for Write2Ignite, here's what you can expect from me in the coming months. In my posts, you'll find words of encouragement for writers, book reviews, and discussions on the craft of writing. I am a regular contributor to Guideposts devotional books as well as a conference speaker. I write articles, devotions, and stories for adult and children’s publications.

Looking for words of encouragement or gluten-free recipes? Then check out my blog at https://sandykirbyquandt.com

Image by Victoria1748 from Pixabay.