This past March, and again in April, I stood in our back hallway poking tiny seeds into pots of soil warmed by little germination mats. Within a week, those seeds began to stir, their seedling leaves poking through the dirt like little green promises. I couldn’t help but grin as my wire seed-starting shelves turned into a jungle of baby plants, setting true leaves and stretching toward the grow lights.
It was like watching my own little miracles unfold, one pot at a time.
I’ve learned some hard lessons about seed starting over the years. We won’t even talk about the tragedies of overwatered trays, leggy seedlings, or the entire eight-week-old tray of seedlings that was forgotten outside and frozen during a cold snap when it was supposed to be hardening off.
But this year, we nailed it. We had hundreds of little plants being lovingly nurtured in their starter pots. We hardened them off carefully and transplanted them into the big garden.
And now, here we are in September. Those early spring days feel like a world away.
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The Harvest Is Worth the Work
It’s harvest season, and we are swimming in abundance. Plums, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, you name it.
We’re eating every fresh and delicious combination we can dream up and tucking all the extras into jars, freezers, and the freeze dryer for winter. My kitchen looks like a produce explosion, and that is not a complaint.
These are the moments I dream about all year. In fact, I planted those seeds this spring for this very moment.
I truly do love gardening. I love having my hands in the dirt. I love the quiet rhythm of getting everything planted, tending it, and watching it grow. But if I’m being completely honest, I garden to feed my family nutrient-dense, homegrown food that tastes like summer even in the middle of winter and is completely affordable.
From the day I tucked those little watermelon seeds into pots until now, it has been months of patient care.
We’ve weeded. We’ve watered. We’ve fed the soil with compost. We’ve battled rogue insects. It has been a complete labor of love. Well, some days it’s just labor. Leave out the love part.
But every day, no matter the chaos of life, whether there are sick kids, packed schedules, or surprise storms, the garden needs our attention. It needs water. It needs nutrients. It needs space free from weeds and protection from pests.
Neglect it and the plants will sulk, stunt, and sometimes give up entirely.
Having a good setup and healthy soil is important. A little luck with the weather certainly helps. But there is absolutely no substitute for putting your eyes on your garden every single day.
Gardening is the ultimate lesson in delayed gratification. A ripe tomato is the fruit of patient, daily work and a little bit of divine teamwork.
We plant and pray, but God provides the harvest. Our effort and His provision work together to fill our harvest baskets with bounty.
A Lesson in Patience
Every year, Josh and I have encouraged our kids to garden alongside us with little plots of their own. When our oldest child, who is now in his 20s, married, and has a daughter of his own, was five years old, he had three little siblings trailing behind him.
I carved out little three-by-three-foot squares in the vegetable garden for each of them. We painted signs, and I let them pick out their seed packets. Each child could choose a bush bean, lettuce, and carrot variety.
Then we planted them together.
Our second son, Connor, was three at the time and absolutely in love with Dragon Tongue bush beans. I think he loved the name more than anything else. I don’t think it was even an hour after planting his beans when he ran to me proudly holding the seeds in his hand.
“Look, Mama!” I had to explain that he needed to be patient. The seeds had to stay in the soil. I thought it was adorable.
The next day, he dug them up again to show me their progress. And then again the next day. Oh, those poor little seeds.
Predictably, his beans didn’t make it that year, although they clung to life much longer than I expected. Bless their little hearts. So we tried again.
I explained how fragile baby sprouts are and how they need to stay safely tucked into the soil while they build strong roots before facing the sun and wind. Connor listened wide-eyed. This time, he waited.
Before long, those beans poked through the soil and his tiny garden plot produced baskets of beautiful speckled beans. His pride in that harvest was worth every dug-up seed.
And he learned an important lesson. As a young mom, I found myself learning that same lesson over and over again.
Trying to Grow the Fruit Myself
I craved the fruits of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
I wanted to be the wife, mother, and friend who radiated those qualities. But as any mom knows, I was also painfully aware of my shortcomings.
With a house full of little ones, a new business, and what felt like chronic sleep deprivation, I often found myself frustrated, snappy, or just plain moody. And I dished out more than my share of impatience to Josh and the kids.
I would get frustrated with my own lack of patience and determine that I was going to change. I was going to grow those traits just like I would grow a crop.
I’d wake up, pray for God’s help, and vow to be patient, only to completely lose it by noon when someone spilled juice or the dog ate my favorite shoe. Then I’d feel even worse.
Not only had I been impatient, but now I had failed at becoming patient too. Looking back, I have to laugh. In true overachiever fashion, I actually crafted a personal growth plan because, yes, I am that person who thinks she can fix anything with a checklist.
Spoiler alert: it totally backfired.
My rigid plans felt totally artificial, and instead of growing in patience, I actually grew more irritable. I was going backward, and I was going backward fast.
But God, in His gentle way, spoke straight to my heart.
I was planting the wrong seeds.
The fruit of the Spirit isn’t the fruit of trying really hard or wishing enough. It’s the fruit of the Spirit.
Jesus’ words to a frazzled Martha really hit home for me in that season:
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed.”
Luke 10:41-42
And then there’s His command to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. That’s summarizing Matthew 22:37-39.
I didn’t need all the checklists, all the trying harder, or all the self-improvement plans. What I needed was to turn my heart toward God each day and toward the people around me, then nurture those seeds with patience. Like little seedlings, the growth would come in time.
Growth Doesn’t Happen on Demand
We live in a right-now world. Two-day shipping. Instant downloads. Text messages sent in seconds. But gardens? They laugh at our hurry.
They demand daily care. Watering. Weeding. Waiting. And often months pass before we ever see the harvest.
When I decided I needed the fruits of the Spirit, I wanted them now. But that’s a little like Connor pulling up his bean seeds to check the roots. It doesn’t help the plant produce fruit faster. In fact, it can kill the seedling entirely.
Our job as gardeners of the soul is to commit daily to the things that draw us closer to God. Prayer. Worship. Praise. Forgiveness. Study. Sharing His goodness.
Through challenges, dry seasons, and those times when growth feels completely invisible, we keep going and trust God’s timing.
As Philippians 1:6 reminds us, "He who began a good work in you will complete it."
In a world filled with division, bitterness, and self-doubt, we all need some gentle nurturing so we can become like the tree described in Psalm 1:3, planted by rivers of water, bringing forth fruit in its season, with leaves that do not wither.
My Heart List
Instead of my old personal-growth checklist, I now keep what I call a heart list.
I ask myself:
- Am I turning my heart toward God?
- Am I praising and worshiping even when I don’t feel like it?
- Am I praying and listening?
- Am I weeding out unforgiveness, fear, or selfishness?
- Am I learning more about Him and sharing His work in my life?
As I daily lean into simply loving God, the fruits of the Spirit begin to grow and even bloom. And when the hard days hit, maybe the kids are bickering and the zucchini harvest is staging a complete kitchen takeover, I declare a Fruits of the Spirit pop quiz.
Instead of wrestling with the problem all by myself, I check my heart list, crank up some praise music, and belt out a joyful noise. Apologies to anyone who has to hear me, because I guarantee you that “joyful noise” is exactly what it is!
Then I trust that God is working it all for good.
Trusting God With the Harvest
Just as Romans 8:28 promises, all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
Oh, my dear friend, I am so thankful for you. But I do need to ask you: What seeds are you planting in your heart’s garden?
Are you demanding the instant fruit of trying to do everything yourself with all your plans, checklists, and self-help books? Or are you nurturing those seeds God’s way, with patience?
Turn your heart toward God daily. Praise Him. Pray. Forgive. Trust. Be gentle with yourself in the process.
He’s tending your soul.
And in His perfect time, your harvest will be abundant with love, joy, and peace.
