Faith Is Like a Garden

Messy, Beautiful, and Full of Surprises

Welcome friend,

I’m Mark, and this space is for the wanderers, the worn out, and the ones still wrestling with God at 2 a.m. I don’t have all the answers, but I know the One who does—and I’m learning to trust Him more.

If this message meets you where you are, stick around. Subscribe, share, or simply pray with me as we walk this narrow road together.

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When someone asks me how my faith is going, I don’t say, “Good!” or “Not so great.” I usually say something strange like, “It’s growing... kind of like my garden.” And honestly, that’s the best way I know how to describe it.

See, I love gardening. There’s just something about digging into the soil with your bare hands and watching something grow where there used to be nothing. It’s messy. It’s slow. It’s kind of a miracle. And that’s faith too.

Planting Takes Faith

Every year I plant seeds in the dirt and just hope something will come of it. I water, I wait, I wonder. It takes trust to believe something’s happening under the surface when all I see is a pile of mud.

Faith starts that way too. A small step. A quiet prayer. A seed of hope in a world full of reasons to quit. You can’t see the full picture right away, but you trust that God is doing something underground.

Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a man scattering seed—he goes to bed, wakes up, and somehow the seed grows (Mark 4:26–27). That’s faith. You don’t make it happen—you believe and let God work.

Some of the pepper plants I planted this evening! 👇

Water or Wither

I’ve learned the hard way that a garden needs water... every day. Miss a couple days in the summer and everything starts to droop. Tomatoes shrivel. Flowers fall off. Weeds take over.

Same with faith. If I go too long without prayer, without soaking in Scripture, my spirit gets dry. I start snapping at people. I feel overwhelmed. I forget what God already told me.

Jesus said He is the living water (John 4:14). We don’t just need a sip now and then—we need Him daily. Otherwise, faith starts to wilt.

Weeding, Trimming, Replanting

Let’s be real: gardening isn’t just sunshine and daisies. It’s pulling weeds that grow faster than anything you actually planted. It’s trimming back dead stuff so the healthy parts can breathe. Sometimes it’s even ripping things up and starting over.

And that’s what faith looks like too. Sometimes God shows you something in your life that’s got to go. It hurts. But He doesn’t prune to punish—He prunes to grow you (John 15:2).

I’ve had to pull out pride. Trim back bitterness. Reseed trust. And every time, He’s been faithful to meet me in the mess.

Growth You Can’t Force

You can’t yell at a plant and make it grow faster. You can’t tug on a leaf to make a flower bloom. Growth happens when the conditions are right—sunlight, water, time.

Faith is the same. You can’t fake spiritual maturity. You can’t microwave peace or speed up patience. God grows us slowly, steadily, faithfully. And honestly, I think He likes taking His time. He’s more interested in roots than speed.

It’s Still a Little Wild

My garden isn’t perfect. Some rows are crooked. Some plants die. Sometimes the squirrels get to the fruit before I do. But it’s still beautiful. Still worth the work. Still growing.

My faith isn’t perfect either. Some days I forget to pray. Some weeks I feel like I’m going backward. But God is patient. He doesn’t toss me out when I mess up. He pulls me back in and whispers, “Let’s keep growing.”

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Call to Repentance:
If you’ve been trying to earn your way into heaven, it’s time to stop striving and start surrendering. Today can be the day everything changes. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:2, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Don’t wait for a better moment. Turn from your sin, believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and receive the gift of eternal life. He is calling—respond to Him today.

Call to Action:
If this message spoke to your heart, don’t keep it to yourself. Share it with someone you love—and make sure to subscribe so you never miss more biblical truth, encouragement, and hope. Let’s walk this journey of faith together.