Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. - Galatians 6:9

Ten-year-old Charlotte and her family had just moved into a new home. Excitedly, Charlotte started exploring the house. Just inside her bedroom, she found an abandoned plant—an orchid that wasn’t flowering.

Charlotte placed her new plant into a spot by the window—where it could get plenty of light. She never forgot to water it. And she cut off its dead leaves.

But nothing happened.

Week after week, she inspected the plant. No blooms appeared. She grew discouraged.

“Give it a month,” her mom said, “and if nothing has happened by then, maybe just toss it out.”

On decision day, Charlotte couldn’t believe her eyes. There was a small pink bud.

Sometimes we grow like that orchid. God’s work in us is often in- visible—at least at first. We aren’t always patient with our friends. We may blow up at our siblings. Or we might even make unwise choices. Eventually, God’s work in us will break through, for all to see.