I know what you’re thinking. You plant the seeds. You water the seeds. You plant the seeds. You water the seeds and nothing is happening. Every day you go out and look, only to find row after row of, well, dirt. Hardly worth your time, right? Um, wrong.

The fruit is there, right under the surface, just waiting for the right moment to burst through the soil. It’s all about the timing. Babies stay safely tucked inside the mother’s womb until they are ready to thrive in the world. Once he’s ready, you couldn’t stop him if you tried. He’s coming out that that’s all there is to it.

You have those wonderful seeds of success inside your garden. I know they’re there because you planted them at the beginning of the month. Right? But you still have nothing but dirt. It can be discouraging. After all, nothing noteworthy about dirt, right? But right below the surface a miracle is happening. Life is spawning and it knows exactly what to do in your life. It’s making its way around the rocks and the twigs, through the dark soil getting ready to spring forth with fruit in your life.

Here are some things to remember as you wait to see the fruit:

1)   Fruit can’t be forced. It blossoms in its own time. Don’t try to rush it or alter it. Emotionally altered fruit will be disappointing.

2)   The fruit knows what to do. Just like the baby girl in her mom’s belly. She doesn’t take a class on how to exit the womb. She doesn’t read a book on how to take her first breath. She is wired instinctively with the ability to do those things already in there. The fruit of your success is the same way. Let it do its thing!

3)   Wait for it. It’s always worth the wait. Always.

4)   The fruit you get is always more than you planted. Much more. And once it’s there, you have to pick it, consume it, share it. Otherwise, it will spoil. So enjoy its sweetness. Give it away to others.

So don’t despair when you see nothing but dirt. Take heart knowing any day you’ll wake up and see that seemingly overnight someone came into your garden and deposited fruit.

Has your fruit broken through the surface yet? Write me and tell me about it. Having trouble with the wait? I’d like to know that, too. Email me at reba@mybooktherapy.com. Thank you all who emailed me with your stories, challenges and victories. Keep them coming!

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Links to Other Posts: Spring Into Action Part One: Plant Seeds of Success, Spring into Action, Part Two: Water the Seeds Regularly, Spring Into Action, Part Three: Weeds be Gone! How to Keep Your Emotional Garden Healthy

Reba J. Hoffman is the MBT Member Care Coach. She has a PhD in clinical counseling and is the founder and president of New Hope Institute of Counseling. Reba uses her gift of encouragement to help writers overcome negative emotions so they can live their dream of being a writer. Her works appear in publications such as Running for the Woman’s Soul by Road Runner Sports and The Good Fight by Donna Hicken. She is the author of My Book Therapy’s Dare to Dream, a Writer’s Journal. Contact her at reba@mybooktherapy.com.