Let the Mango Ripen...

I’m not sure anyone gets as excited as I do when its mango season… YAyyy!!!

They’ve got a variety of mangoes in Benue(they don’t call them food basket of the nation for nothing)… I have no idea what their true ‘biological’ names are but in these parts, mangoes share names with humans ‘Julie, Peter, John, Brooklyn, Alphonsos. There’s Kerosene mango and a couple of others I just love to eat.

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 In March, the trees are heavily pregnant with green mangoes, and I can’t wait for the rains to turn them yellow and give me the pleasure I so much desire. The green mangoes doesn’t stop some people though, those eager to make money, spend time and energy using sticks to bring them to the ground, and then they proceed in boiling the mangoes to ripen them for sale… It isn't safe buying mangoes at these time, you're left with a sour taste in your mouth and a tummy ache for days. We’ve got mango trees in my house, and i get pissed off whenever i see any of the staff plucking the unripe mangoes… why wouldn't they just let the poor things ripen and enjoy it like it’s meant to be. If i can wait, anyone else should be able to.

There is no satisfaction in eating green mangoes for me.

Then comes the first rains, and more rain and yayy, the mangoes hanging turns yellow, no one is struggling to pluck anymore, they just dropped, and everywhere you turn, mango sellers have genuine ripe mangoes you can comfortably buy knowing you’re not being deceived. Even when they don't drop, it's easier to get them down from the trees when they're ripe.

I was in my room early one morning and I heard thudding sounds, I peeked out of my window and smiled at the sight, the mangoes the staff struggled to pluck weeks earlier were dropping with no prompting. Yellow succulent looking mangoes covered the ground. All we had to do was bend down and pick them up into buckets. No stress, no wahala, and i mused at the wonders of God.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven..." Ecclesiastes 3:1

No one understands the way God works… But we know He works in times and seasons. When we force a thing to happen before its season, we don’t enjoy the fullness of it, we miss out on a lot, we have a sour taste in our mouth and our teeth is set on edge. We labor for it, and end up not getting the best, because we refuse to wait for the right time.

Everyone has a time and season for certain things… you can’t rush God; you can’t demand to produce mango fruits of your life during the harmathan season, before the rains. The mango tree looks idle as we all drive pass it or relax under it for shade from the sun in the harmathan season, but inside, deep within it, it’s working, preparing, putting things in shape for it’s season of greatness and productivity. I love this quote "A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor." Victor Hugo

As humans, just because we don’t see a person blossoming and doing well in his business doesn’t mean he’s lazy and clueless or a write off. The fact that he is not in season doesn’t mean he’s useless… the fact that there’s a delay in living your dream doesn’t mean you’re expected to seat lazing around. Get at the invisible labor, ignore the voice of judgment from those around, educate yourself, build yourself up in areas related to your dreams, focus on positivity, make yourself ready for the day when your fruit is visible and ripe enough to start falling off without struggle.

Our struggle is in waiting for the appointment we have with destiny. God is a God of order, doing everything by appointment. In spite of temporary circumstances, God has a preset time of deliverance and blessings. TD Jakes

Prepare yourself for your season while you wait... No one cuts down a mango tree because it is out of season. Don't bring your life to a halt because you don't see immediate results. There's a season, and who knows, it may just be around the corner for you.

At low times, prepare yourself for your harvest and refuse to skip God’s time table. There's a reason he makes things happen in seasons... to ensure we prepare ourselves well enough for what we are called out to do.