The Surprise of Chinese Bamboo

I learned something exquisite today:

Have you ever seen or walked through a bamboo forest? The stalks of bamboo are enormous; towering above our human height by 30, 50, 100 feet. It appears, however, that once the seed has been sown for these incredible trees, nothing apart from a tiny shoot can be seen for about five years' time. During these five years, all of the plant's growth takes place beneath the surface where a highly complex root system reaches in all directions, establishing itself. Then at the end of the fifth year, the tiny shoot begins to shoot upward out of the soil and grows up to 82 feet!

Imagine the patience, persistence, and trust it must take to wait those five long years with no perceptible growth. Now, imagine all of the growth you have within yourself that has yet to be realized...