Don’t give up. 

I am not an expert gardener. I don’t think I’ve ever had one of those particularly prolific gardens that I see on social media. I hope someday, with experience and learning, I can soon have one of them, but for now. I’m very much an amateur. I’m okay with that. 

But one of the things that I am an expert in doing is sitting in difficult places and letting life teach me valuable truths. And though my expectations for my garden was one of a few vegetables and a great experience to have with my family… I really didn’t expect this. 

What my garden lacks in tangible, edible foods right now is rich in perspective. We sowed seeds two weeks ago, and the weeks before that, we moved our garden to a sunnier area with better drainage (since that was a lesson we learned last year). It took a lot of hard work, discipline, and persistence to get it ready in time. 

Once we planted the seeds, we continued to make sure they were watered, we kept it weeded, and made sure the environment was as healthy as we knew how to make it. But, still, of course, we saw nothing sprout up for a long time. 

A couple of days before we saw our first sprouts, I remember telling Joe that I was concerned that maybe it got to cold and our little seed babies didn’t make it. And maybe the time spent sowing may have been wasted. 

I kept checking the garden, nurturing it with my time and attention, wondering if anything would come from it at all. Maybe I would just have to buy started plants. That’s okay, but it’s not what I wanted. 

Until I saw this: 

All that work, and all that nurturing, and still… there were things happening underneath the surface that I could not see. Because of my persistence (or maybe hardheadedness?) the roots were given time to grow, and stems and leaves began to grow. 

And I realized, this does not just happen in the garden. 

When we build our dreams, our business, our relationships… it requires persistence, discipline, and hard work. And most of the time, we give up so soon because we didn’t see the results we wanted. In an effort to protect ourselves from further disappointment, we turn away, not realizing that there may just be something happening underneath the surface. 

Maybe we do the thing and we get hurt. 

But what if we do the thing and we don’t? Would the risk have been worth it? 

I remember when Joe and I started building our community of dream-chasers. We did live streams that no one watched. We did videos that cost us money and time to make, rather than being a steady income. Many times we talked about giving it up because it was hard, or because we just didn’t see the point in it. Until we started seeing the fruit. 

I struggle to think about what would have happened if we had allowed ourselves to quit. Where would we be? How would we have stunted our growth and experiences because we would have never met you, our community?

There was a chance that we could have kept going and nothing would have come from it. There were many opportunities where we could have chosen not to adjust, not to learn, and not to sit in the hard places and learn valuable truths. 

But, something did come of it. 
We chose to adjust. 
We chose to sit in the hard places and learn valuable truths. 

Sometimes, you never know if the good thing you’re doing is working hard… underneath the surface. 

And sure… are garden isn’t any bearing fruit now… but today… I saw a promise of a harvest. And for that, I’m very excited.