Jen’s Gem: Seek and you shall find.
This week, I secured a plot in my town’s community garden. I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of years and finally decided that it was time. I miss the small garden from my house and even though I attempted to replicate it on my balcony, it wasn’t the same.
I was shown a few choices of available spaces, which required some cleaning out. I thought “Am I really up for this?” “Did I bite off more than I can chew?” Then the caretaker walked me over to a garden that he personally cleared and filled for the previous occupant.
There it was – fresh and clean and new. All it needs is a few seedlings and soon, my salad will be of my own hands. Woo hoo!
As I get ready to “sow these seeds,” I can’t help but think about other seeds I’ve sown. For example, the seed of this blog over five years ago. The seed of the Elevate the Day podcast and my book, both approaching their two year anniversary. This ministry, if I dare call it that, was sown out of a deep desire to encourage other people, to share lessons learned in the hopes that my mistakes would not be rinse and repeat occurrences in their lives, and to give hope.
Because don’t we all need a bit more hope these days?
When I look back over my life a decade ago, I’m completely different. Twenty years ago? I’m unrecognizable, and it’s not just the wrinkles or gray hair. It’s been an inside job. Nearly two decades ago, I was a newly divorced mother of two children, working a demanding full time job. The only vision I had for my life was to not be crushed under the weight of the immense responsibilities I had as a mother.
Today my young adult children (how did that happen?) are still my vision. What I do with my ministry is for them and my future grandchildren. I recall a thought I had years ago in which I said that I parent for my grandchildren – that is, I wanted to parent my kids in the best way I knew how so that they would become even better parents to their kids.
I want my children to know who they are and how much they are loved by me and their Father in heaven so that when they look into the eyes of their offspring, they “pay it forward.” I want them to know that they have a cheerleader, a coach, and a confidante who will go to bat for them until the day I take my last breath.
As I write this post, it is occurring to me that this is the same vision I have for you. I want you to also know that even though we may have never met, you have a cheerleader, a coach, and a confidante on the other side of your screen. But more importantly, you have all three of these and so much more with God.
If you enjoy my blog posts, podcasts, or even my book, there’s only one reason for it – God. I could accomplish none of this – nor could I have raised my children mostly on my own – without His grace, mercy, protection, and forgiveness.
You may be asking – especially if you are a long-time follower of mine – what happened? You may wonder when and why I decided to let go of my SuperMom cape and put my trust in the real Superman. You’ll have to buy my book or book me to speak to learn the whole story but suffice it to say that my life, as much as it looked like a garden of roses on the outside, was full of weeds on the inside. It took a supernatural act of God to clear it all out and lay a new bed of soil so that better seeds could be planted.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)
Little by little, as my faith deepened and more of God’s promises came to pass in my life, I realized that the “wait was over.” What I’d been searching for my entire life – and I do mean my entire life, was there all along. I wish that I’d discovered it sooner, but I know God will make up for that lost time.
Maybe in these challenging times you too are wondering who you are and what your place is in this world. Perhaps, like me, you know there’s something better, but you’re not sure where it is. Maybe you’ve self-reflected yourself to death but have come up empty, just as I did.
I want to encourage you today to know that you do have a place in this world (Psalm 139:13-14) and are here “for a time such as this” (Esther 4:14). God has a plan and purpose for your life (Jeremiah 29:11), God is with you always, (1 John 4:4) and most of all, He loves you more than you can imagine (John 3:16).
The Bible tells us that we reap what we sow. Maybe it’s time to clear out the weeds in your life and sow new seeds. Then, if you wait just a little while, you’ll have a bountiful garden of God’s blessings.