You Tend. God Grows.

There’s something about standing in the garden and picking fresh basil that makes one of life’s harder lessons feel incredibly simple.

Months ago, those fragrant green leaves were nothing more than tiny seeds.

They were planted.

Watered.

Given sunlight.

And then, slowly, they grew.

I could tend the soil, pull the weeds, and make sure the plants had what they needed, but I couldn’t actually make the basil grow.

And maybe that’s something we need to remember in our own lives.

We live in a world that tells us that if we just work harder, find the right routine, follow the perfect wellness plan, or think the right thoughts, we can control the outcome.

But God never asked us to control the outcome.

He asks us to be faithful.

We can plant good seeds in our minds by being careful about what we allow ourselves to dwell on.

We can nourish our bodies with foods that support them.

We can move, rest, pray, spend time in Scripture, and make choices that honor the body God has entrusted to us, but then comes the part many of us struggle with:

We have to trust God with the growth.

Paul puts it so simply:

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” 1 Corinthians 3:6

I love that Scripture doesn't dismiss our part.

Someone planted.

Someone watered.

There was work to be done.

But the growth belonged to God.

Maybe you've been making changes in your health and aren't seeing the results you hoped for yet.

Maybe you've been working on your mindset and still find yourself slipping into old thought patterns.

Maybe you've been praying about something for months or even years and wonder if anything is happening beneath the surface.

Keep tending.

Not because you can force the outcome, but because faithfulness matters even when you can't see the growth yet.

A seed beneath the soil can look like nothing is happening.

And yet God may already be at work.

So today, instead of asking, “Why am I not there yet?” perhaps ask:

“What has God placed in my hands to faithfully tend today?”

Take the walk.

Prepare the nourishing meal.

Open your Bible.

Speak kindly to yourself.

Get the rest your body needs.

Say the prayer.

Plant the seed.

Then leave room for God to do what only He can do.

Keep planting.

Keep tending.

Keep trusting.

And know that God is still at work.