I’ve been thumbing through a new book — a revised and expanded edition of how to raise and sell cut flowers the organic way. The irony is that I don’t really need an expanded version. There’s nothing in my repertoire to expand since my success rate with gardening is pretty bad. Spring always sprouts my grandiose dreams of living off our land all Little House on the Prairie-like, but by July, reality sets in, and the scorching North Carolina summers crush my sky-high aspirations.
I want it to be different, but I wonder how to change.
The Holy Spirit has also convicted me: Jen, you can’t keep taking shortcuts. Trust me and do the hard things.
At the start of spring, everything still looks brown, dirty, and dead. Flowers are a long way off. Snapped branches from winter’s ice storms litter the yard alongside mounds of mud our mischievous dogs dug. It always feels overwhelming to even start.
But something new is stirring, even when the scene is barren. The first chapter of my gardening book prioritizes the critical importance of soil preparation. To the naked eye, there’s no beauty to be found in the drudgery of manual labor, yet without tilling, mulching, fertilizing, and composting, nothing much grows except weeds. Come summertime, the plethora of weeds in my garden is evidence of the little work I put in, and I’m certain this is why my homesteading lifestyle dreams never amounted to much. I love my shortcuts.
I’ve never invested the time necessary to allow my crops to flourish. I tend to jump over that part. I procrastinate until the weather is beautiful. I wait until working outside brings a spring to my step, and I envision filling my vintage mason jars with cut flowers that I grew myself, just like the cover of my new gardening book. But 300 pages in, I realize the hard work starts when the ground appears dead.
If I want flowers to flourish this summer, I need to start now with the behind-the-scenes work that no one will witness.
So I’m starting something new. I spent a week outside — cold and lonely — tilling, digging, and planting unique bulbs. I hate it. I tell myself I’ll grow to love the process, but nope. There are no guarantees I ever will, but I’m putting in the hard work, only worrying about those things I can control and burying the excuses I’ve held
onto for so long.
“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:7 NLT
I will wait for the flower roots to grow deep. Sometimes the hardest work begins in the waiting, but I’ll be hopeful and expectant, and still give myself lots of grace. Though I’m focused on the physical act of gardening, I’m convicted again of how it mimics my spiritual life.
My desire is for others to see the love of Jesus in me so clearly, but I can’t expect my roots to grow deep and flourish with joy, peace, and gratitude amidst increasingly difficult times if I’m not willing to discipline myself and prioritize the necessary time with the Lord. To understand and step into living within the fullness of His nature, I must know Him intimately. That requires time with Him, and not just reading an Instagram post about Him. It requires discipline. My free-spirited personality doesn’t like discipline. I wish I could wrap this concept up in a pretty bow, but this kind of discipline is hard, my friends. In many aspects of my life, whether I’m working on a physical, spiritual, or emotional goal, it often feels painful.
“No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Hebrews 12:11 CSB
Did you catch that? For those trained, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace. It’s worth the exhaustion to cultivate our beings. So when I’m feeling fragile, God is my only foundation. When anxiety sets in, He is the answer. When moments of doubt erupt, His truth is what moves those mountains.
Being rooted in His Word and remaining in His Spirit brings the redemption story to life. It sparks a rebirth and revival, which is what I’m seeking this season. Aren’t you?
There are no guarantees, and I have much to do, but new life starts in the work and the waiting — the beautiful tension that’s always found before things flourish.
Will you join me in starting? When the flowers bloom, we’ll remember their beauty began long ago with dedicated hours of work and waiting about which no one knew. Come find me then. I’ll let you know what’s growing in my garden.
Article by Jen Schmidt from the (in)courage archives and featured in Everyday Faith Magazine.
The spring issue of DaySpring’s Everyday Faith magazine is available now, and you’re going to love it!
From cover to cover, you will find stories and articles in Everyday Faith magazine to inspire hope, encourage your heart, and remind you that you are loved by God. You’ll be reminded that no matter what you are facing and no matter what life brings your way, God is making all things new. You will find tips on how to create a peaceful home and how to study the Bible, anecdotes about persevering through difficult times, and stories of Easter traditions.
The article above is just one of many featured in Everyday Faith magazine, which is perfect for gifting to a friend, Bible Study sister, Sunday School teacher, or neighbor. And to help you do just that, we’re giving away* FIVE sets of magazines — one for each winner and one for them to give to a friend!
I have sent my Sister Lisa and my Mother Joyce a copy of the magazine already. I would love to send my Sister Vicki and my nieces Angie, Kyley, and Courtney a copy of the magazine as well.
I love the magazines! Thank you
Denise
As I have been working in my yard this spring and reading through the Bible Recap plan in Deuteronomy right now, this devotion really spoke to my heart. Doing the necessary things like mulching and composting piles of leaves and plodding through my least favorite books in the Bible are all vital to growth, botanically and spiritually. Jen did a beautiful job opening my heart to be more grateful for the process that leads to the fruit in both my life and my garden
Susan – thank you for reminding me that the composting and mulching is much like plodding through Deuteronomy. They all help us lay the critical foundation, right? Here’s to all our growth ❤️❤️
Thank you for this opportunity. The cover is beautiful and so is the article. Very timely for some things I am going through. Would love to share the magazine with a church friend. Sharon A.
I loved this article—it is so true, and a message I needed to hear today! Thank you for the opportunity to win these magazines. If I win, I would gift one to our pastor’s wife, and after I read my copy I would pass it on to a young mother in my church. I feel that these magazines are too full of life and wisdom to just sit on a coffee table— they need to be shared!
Oops, I forgot who I would send copies to! My sister Ann, daughter Niki, daughter in law Roxanne, friend battling cancer Tanya and a former addict/homeless young lady Brianna that I had the privilege of leading to the Lord several years ago. Watching God work in her life has been such a blessing as she has purchased a small homestead, graduated from technical school, got a great job, earned her Bachelors degree and is working on her Masters degree!
I would give a copy to my friend Brenda, who inspires me in faith every day.
I would give a copy to my dear friend Christa, who has to make a really big life decision soon. Your beautiful post totally reminded of a beautiful song called Flowers by Samantha Ebert. I began getting up an hour earlier (around 5:45am) at the end of November 2024 so that I could have a longer time with the Lord each morning before work. Since then God has been watering seeds; for example my sister who I’ve been praying for her to know Jesus for many years began praying and talking about the Lord the end of December. Praise the Lord for how He is working in her life! Also God has given me much more hope, peace and joy since having a deeper time in His Word and prayer. Praise God! I hope this is a lifetime change; I don’t want to go back to only having 10-15 minutes with Him in the mornings. He still was with me those years, providing in every way, yet life was not as fulfilling. I’m grateful for your daily devotionals! 🙂
Absolutely Jen! Went from acres in NC and learned hard lessons from the clay ( dirt) but in 2020 we learned time in the garden day after day brings a beautiful harvest! Now this year in SC near water, wind,& sun . I’m relearning the process again before the July you speak of coming which will try to cook my pretty plants, but alas! I planted drought, heat tolerant plants. I’m convinced it’s the way to grow me spiritually also.. slowly, drinking and basking in Gods presence and Word.. I will continue to grow in the fruits of the Spirit! Best days ahead I will pray for your garden;) and growth! I’m sure this magazine will inspire me and many sweet friends as well as my daughter ( who is clueless in garden planning and wants to know) loves the Lord and homeschooling her kiddos. She is my bestie forever
gardening has always been a great hobby of mine. It’s one I enjoy doing the planting and then seeing the bulbs come up in the spring
so muchbeauty.
My daughter-in-law is also a gardener which is brought so much joy to my life and sharing this hobby with her
I would give the magazine subscription to her so when she has time to read her Bible, she will be able to add this to her study
Jen’s post was so inspiring, reminding me that all the work involved in gardening is well worth the outcome. The same is true in our spiritual lives. If I am chosen, I would love to share a copy of the magazine with my sister-in-law who is suffering with cancer, I know it would brighten her day.
Thank you, Jen… I’m like you I so appreciate all the spring growth, but don’t love digging in the dirt.
Sending you spring joy,
Lisa Wilt
I would love to give my Mom a copy! She has been struggling a lot lately!
I would give a copy to my daughter
Thank you for the opportunity to win this magazine. I would enjoy reading it and passing it along after I read it. I would give an extra copy to the next lady I met up with after receiving it.
oohhhh Lord…this was so good! these 2 parts were in bold for a reason:
-sometimes the hardest work begins in the waiting
-new life starts in the work and the waiting
clearly i needed this reminder. thank you!
Jen, thanks for the uplifting reflection. I,too, like to garden but find it a little hard to get started…..but it is always worth the work and the wait. God is always busy helping us tend the garden of our hearts…..lots of weeding, and fertilizing with His Word. I’d love to receive the Everyday Faith Magazine. I am on a fixed income and it doesn’t always allow for subscriptions. I have six faith-filled sisters with whom I would share a copy. Our favorite by-line in our daily e-mails is F.R.O.G. – Fully Relying On God! Only way to live.
I would give a copy to my best friend who could use some encouragement and inspiration in this season of her busy and stressful life. We should all help one another walk through difficult seasons, so this is one way I could show I’m there for her.
I would gift a copy of Everyday Faith to my sister-in-law’s mother. She is visiting from the Philippines and would love this magazine.
I can relate to the vision of beautiful flowers and not necessarily liking the work it takes to plant and care for them. I became a plant mom last year. I bought a germination kit and found seed packets in all different kinds of varieties at the Dollar store. The seedlings grew indoors until they were ready to be planted outdoors. I even invested in a raised garden bed to plant them in. I have pulled weeds and fought against ant beds in my flower garden. I planted freesia bulbs in the fall, and even though a rare snow storm covered the beautiful green shoots, they are starting to bloom. In combination with my flowers from last year, my flower bed is full of colorful flowers. Like my growth as a Christian, growing flowers is a process. There is the investment of time involved. The wonderful thing is that there are beautiful results when I take the time to cultivate a relationship with Jesus.
Love these magazines! Wish there was a subscription option. I would share with my mom.
What a blessing it has been to my life reading this devotional today. It is a confirmation to me that I need to continue trusting in Him so that my hard work and my waiting will flourish in His time. He is a good God who is always working in our life, even when we don’t see it.
The timing of this devotion is divine. The voice of the Holy Spirit has been nudging me to stop and take time to be with Him. It’s so hard to see the big picture sometimes, I only focus on the present. I would love to gift a copy of the magazine to my daughter. It’s a great tool for getting the faith message to her without being too pushy 🙂
♥Christine
I would love to receive this very magazine regularly if it were not for a limited income, so obtaining it in a giveaway would be fantastic. And making it all even better is the chance to send a copy to my dear friend in Colorado who would love it’s content.
I have a special friend who is a caretaker for her husband who has Alzheimer’s. She stays close to home and loves to read God’s Word and garden. This would be a perfect gift for her. Her name is Betsy Chaffin.
Beautiful words. If I won I would probably give a copy to my grandma or my neighbor.
I would send this gift to my granddaughter who is the wife of a Lutheran Pastor and an avid gardener. She grows an organic garden with her two young children helping, using their home-schooling skills they’ve learned. Then they incorporate their home grown produce to make healthy meals.
The whole family benefits from their gardening project.
I would give a copy to my mom, Karen, who loves inspirational magazines.
Ohh so good I’m usually keen to get going on my garden but this year not so much, so this really spoke to me. We currently have ducks in our garden, an easy way to add fertility and get rid of slugs, but they find the new growth very tasty.
I’m also curious, what flower book you are reading?
I will gift to my Mom!
To each of my daughters. Loved your article.