When we started gardening as a family, I thought we were just growing food.
What I didn’t realize was that we were also growing character, connection, and purpose—one seed at a time.
Our backyard garden isn’t just rows of tomatoes and herbs. It’s a living classroom. A sacred space where dirt turns into lessons, and tiny sprouts whisper truths that books sometimes can’t teach.
Lesson 1: Patience is Powerful
In a world of instant gratification, gardening slows us down.
My kids are learning that you can’t rush a tomato to ripen or force lavender to bloom.
They water, wait, and watch. And in the waiting, they grow too.
Every time we walk outside to check the plants, they’re reminded:
Some of the best things in life take time.
Lesson 2: Stewardship Matters
When a child tends to something daily—pulling weeds, checking leaves for bugs, watering the soil—they begin to understand what it means to care deeply for creation.
It’s not just about getting something from the earth. It’s about giving to it, nurturing it, and seeing the result of their faithfulness.
Gardening helps my kids understand that what we’re given is meant to be stewarded, not just consumed.
And that principle runs deeper than just plants.
Lesson 3: God Is Always Growing Something
We plant the seeds, but we can’t make them grow.
That’s a powerful picture of faith.
My kids are learning that growth often happens underground—where we can’t see it. Just because something isn’t blooming yet doesn’t mean nothing is happening.
It’s a reminder I need too:
God works in the unseen.
And our job is to stay faithful in the planting, trusting Him with the harvest.
Lesson 4: Real Food Has Roots
When my daughter clips fresh basil or helps wash off our homegrown peppers, something shifts in her. She sees the value in real food. She connects it with care, not convenience.
We talk about why we grow our own:
🌱 To avoid unnecessary chemicals
🌱 To nourish our bodies
🌱 To live more simply and intentionally
🌱 To save money and steward well
🌱 To worship God through the work of our hands
Lesson 5: Life Is a Garden, Too
Some days the garden is full of blooms. Some days it’s overrun with weeds.
And some days we’re just out there together, learning as we go.
Isn’t that just like motherhood?
Gardening gives my children—and me—a quiet, powerful reminder that life is cyclical. Messy. Miraculous. And always growing.
From Dirt to Discipleship
We started this garden to grow food.
But what’s been planted in our hearts is even richer.
Purpose. Patience. Stewardship. Wonder. Worship.
So if you’ve been thinking about starting a garden—even just a small pot of herbs—I encourage you to do it.
It might just become your family’s favorite place to grow together.
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9 (ESV)
Living Life with a Purpose 