I’ve always wanted a bigger garden than I could possibly manage. I’d scroll through Pinterest and ooh and ahh over archways and gates that beckon entrance, white-picket fences, and trellises that cradle ripening fruit.
Yet, the demands of life and suburban living whittled my gardens down to a few raised beds.
Tending a garden isn’t a one-way experience because gardens give back:
- They provide an abundance of fruit and vegetables.
- Time to contemplate while tilling the soil.
- Release of frustrations while picking weeds.
- Reminders of how essential pruning is in gardens and in life.
Gardens remind me of people God’s placed in my life with whom I exchange encouragement.
As a writer and artist, I often envy the size of other creatives’ gardens. Some have far more than a garden; they have an entire farm’s-worth of followers to nurture:
- Author Ann Voskamp provides for thousands through her books, website, and public speaking.
- Jennifer Dukes Lee, author of Growing Slow, also blesses the multitudes with her wisdom and life experiences shared in a multiplicity of ways.
- Ann Kroeker, founder of YPM, Your Platform Matters, the writing community I joined, tends a huge farm’s worth of followers.
How big is your garden?
Mine’s pretty modest—there’s the women in my family and among my friends; the book study group at a local church, and a moderate social media following.
My garden might never grow to influence thousands, but I’ll faithfully tend it just the same: planting seeds of encouragement, watering with prayers, and plucking the fruits of encouraging comments others give back when I share my artistry.
How big is your garden?
Who has the good Lord placed in your life to nurture and to receive nurture from?
We don’t choose our garden or field, God does.
He knows what we can handle with His grace and our life commitments.
He merely asks us to cultivate faithfully. To use the gifts and talents He’s bestowed.
Perhaps in God’s eyes size is irrelevant.
Faithfulness and commitment are what matters.
“‘The kingdom of God is like this,’ He said. ‘A man scatters seed on the ground; he sleeps and rises — night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows — he doesn’t know how. The soil produces a crop by itself — first the blade, then the head, and then the ripe grain on the head. But as soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come.’” Mark 4:26-29 HCSB
I create resources to ignite creativity, and help people develop their God-given talents.If you’d like a monthly infusion of inspiration, links to free resources, and tips for making art easy, sign up for my email list: Release your Full Artistic Potential.
I believe you have a unique destiny, and I hope to be a part of your journey!
JoDee Luna Art 