Dormancy is not death.

I was reminded of that this week, doing something as ordinary as taking out the trash. Nothing spiritual about the moment. Just routine, just another pass through the yard.

And then I noticed it.

On that little tree, the one that has looked bare and lifeless for months, there were small buds beginning to form, and the first hints of blooms starting to show.

They weren’t loud or dramatic. Easy to miss if I hadn’t slowed down for a second. But they were there. And as I stood there, it immediately brought to mind the imagery of John 15. A branch doesn’t produce life on its own. It simply stays connected to the source, and over time, life shows up.

Because just weeks ago, that same tree looked done. Branches empty. No color, no movement. Nothing to suggest life. If you didn’t know better, you might have assumed it had nothing left to give.

But those buds and blooms told a different story.

They didn’t appear because life suddenly started again. They were formed long before I ever noticed them. Protected through the cold. Held tightly through the long stretch of winter. Quietly developing beneath the surface while everything above it looked still.

All that unseen work finally had a visible sign.

And it made me realize how often we misread our own seasons.

We see stillness and assume absence.

We see slowness and assume something is wrong.

We see what feels like nothing and quietly wonder if we are stuck.

But what if there has been life all along?

What if God has been at work in ways you cannot see yet? Strengthening what feels weak. Deepening what needs roots. Holding together things that would not survive if they were exposed too soon.

The buds and blooms are not the beginning of life. They are the revealing of life that has been there all along.

So if you find yourself in a season that feels quiet, or slow, or even a little empty, do not rush to label it as failure.

It may be a season of being kept.

A season where growth is happening in hidden places.

A season where God is doing careful, intentional work beneath the surface.

A season where what is being formed now will be needed later.

You may not see it yet.

But that does not mean it is not happening.

That little tree in my backyard reminded me of something I do not want to forget.

Dormancy is not death.

So stay connected to the Vine. Even when you cannot see growth, life is still flowing. And in time, what is rooted in Him will bear fruit.

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- Alex

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