Women Who Rise

YOU WERE PLANTED

When a tulip bulb is planted, it’s in darkness. Packed in the dirt, not sure its purpose. There for the next one to two weeks it lies in waiting, dormant, absorbing moisture until it “wakes up.” The soil is usually cool as summer has just ended and fall is approaching. During the second week growth begins slowly from the base of the bulb down deeper into the ground. This is the most important phase for a healthy tulip because it is there in the good soil that it begins to grow roots.

Between Fall and throughout the cold dark of winter, it continues to root deeper into the soil, even though nothing is visible above ground. These are ideal conditions for good root growth. The soil temperature is 40 to 55 degrees, well drained but receiving consistent moisture. And there must be good nutritional soil. It is only when a strong root system is established, and the snow and cold has thawed out, that the shoot finally emerges from the ground and becomes visible to the outside world where the growth accelerates.

The tulip is the early riser. Its birth into the light from above the soil begins the spring. It’s the sign that better days are ahead, that the days are getting longer and warmer and the birds, bees, and tree leaves will be returning.

THE LESSON

There are many lessons we can extract symbolically from this beautiful flower. First is that for the tulip to rise it must be planted in total darkness. Nothing about that season looks like growth. There is no color, no movement, no noise. Yet beneath the soil, something essential is happening.  Darkness in your life could be divorce, job loss, loss of a loved one, abusive situations, a tough season of your life where you felt numb, devoid of emotion, desperate, depressed, or absent. A time of your life where you just felt stuck, empty, the weight of the world on your shoulders. Maybe not sure how you got there or why it is happening but not ready to move. You might be stuck in unproductive space, waiting, with no clear vision forward. I always heard the saying that if you don’t know what to do, wait. I imagine that when a tulip bulb is placed in that darkness for the first time, the quiet and cold surrounding them entirely, and the weight of the earth is baring down on them, they are just waiting.

MY SEASON OF DARKNESS

One of the darkest seasons of my life was the collapse of my marriage. Months of fear, anxiety, and conflict that left me feeling trapped inside my own life. I couldn’t afford to leave the house that I was paying for and he refused to leave, so I was stuck as a hostage in that situation and the next 6 months of my life were the darkest I had ever experienced. I got all my stuff, and I moved myself down to the basement and locked the door. It was cold, it was dark, and it was like being in prison in my own home. I was constantly under pressure, scrutiny, and unsure who or what I could trust. The situation was ugly and painful and someday I may tell the full story of that season… But for now, to avoid retaliation, what matters is what God did in me during and after it.

Truthfully, I wasn’t helping myself during that time either. In an attempt to run from my problems, I put my attention into people and things that weren’t good for me. I started seeing new men before I had even had time to process things and before the dissolution was final. I was being promiscuous, drinking more and taking gummies to numb myself to the pain I was experiencing. I was in darkness, but I wasn’t giving myself the right conditions for growth. So, I sat in darkness alone, in waiting, for a season that persisted much longer than the tulips season…

ROOTING

There was one particularly dark day when the weight of everything seemed to be crashing down on me for good. My reputation was hanging on by a thread, my life was overrun with anxiety and guilt. I was in a very unfair and abusive situation, and I was enduring it mostly alone and in private with only few friends I could share it with.  I went on a long walk that day, out to the woods at a park I visited almost daily, and sat by the water, and just screamed. I screamed at God, “Why is this happening? This isn’t fair! Help me! Where are you?”

There I heard God say, “Be still.” So, I prayed and I sat still. And I decided at that moment to surrender. And a peace came over me that I cant explain. I began to grow roots.  Just like the tulip needs consistent moisture to remain hydrated, our spirit needs consistent interaction with Lord to stay nourished. My spiritual life was parched at that point and I had tried everything but God to quench the thirst.

This began my journey to today, sitting here writing this blog. My life is peaceful and I am present. My life looks nothing like that day in the park and I don’t even recognise that woman I had become. God has moved mountains for me. He called me out upon the water. He took me to the wilderness to be with him. He made me to lay down in green pastures and he restored my soul. But before all that- where the story begins- is in my darkest moment, there was just that quiet surrender. Nobody knew. I didn’t announce it on my Facebook or tell everyone (partially because I knew I would still mess up!) Sometimes real growth begins quietly, underground, inside yourself, before anything is seen.

MEANT TO RISE

I was not meant to be in the dark forever. We are not meant to remain stagnant in the soil forever. Yet beneath the soil, something essential is happening. Roots are forming quietly, deliberately, and deeply. Without that unseen work, the bloom will never come.

In the same way, women who rise are first rooted.

God often plants us in hidden seasons before He elevates us into visible ones. Darkness is not punishment; it is preparation. Soil is not burial; it is nourishment. Scripture reminds us that unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much fruit (John 12:24).

 Spiritual rising does not begin on platforms or in public affirmation. It begins early, before dawn, when no one is watching.

It begins in:

*Prayer, where our roots learn how to draw from God instead of people.

*Worship, which pleases God and honours him and aligns our heart with his truth.

*The Word, where truth anchors us against shifting emotions.

*Church and community, where roots intertwine and grow stronger together.

Just as a tulip establishes its root system in cold soil, a woman establishes spiritual authority in seasons that feel uncomfortable, quiet, or unseen. What looks like stillness is fortification. She is being prepared for the moment when the conditions are right, the roots are deep and able to protect her from the weather and outside forces. Then she is meant to rise.

Women who rise understand this. They can look back at their rooting season with gratitude because they realise that elevation without depth leads to collapse. Visibility without roots leads to burnout. Beauty without grounding fades quickly. A woman rooted in Christ does not fear the dark. She grows despite it. She knows it is temporary. She knows it’s essential. She trusts the process because she trusts the Gardener.

Then when spring comes, she does not struggle to bloom. She rises naturally, supported by the work already done below the surface.

She was not buried- She was planted, rooted, and made to rise.

-Ashley