This week, spring is in full swing where I live. The landscape is becoming green again, and flowers are popping up everywhere. What’s been catching my attention the most, though, are the flowering trees. When I’m walking, driving, or biking around town, I’m often struck by a sudden burst of white, yellow, or pink from trees that weren’t showing any signs of these just days before.
These trees don’t all bloom at once. Over a few weeks, different trees come into bloom, each in their own time. It’s as if each one takes its turn, one after another, showing up in a way that surprises me every time.
A dear friend of mine bought a house last winter, and when she returned from a vacation, she saw something that caught her off guard. A tree in her backyard, which had been nothing but bare branches for months, was suddenly covered in white blossoms. “I didn’t know this tree did that!” she said with delight.
Unless we’re really familiar with identifying trees, if we spend months just looking at bare branches, we’re not likely to know what will happen when spring finally arrives. We can’t always anticipate the way one tree will suddenly burst into bloom, or how another will turn a brilliant shade of pink. It’s all about waiting for the right time.
The trees reveal themselves in their own way. The blooms show us exactly what kind of tree they are.
And maybe people are like this, too. Sometimes, we have to give others the time and space to reveal themselves. It’s easy to assume we know someone based on first impressions or fleeting moments, but sometimes it takes more than that. It takes patience, understanding, and being willing to wait for the right time to see the full picture.
So, as we wait for things to unfold, sometimes, the best things reveal themselves when we give them the time they need.
— Renee Roederer
Smuggling Grace 