The Garden Gremlin & Grace

If you’ve ever planted a garden with a dog around, you know gardening quickly becomes a team sport… whether you wanted teammates or not.

Our dog Daisy has lovingly earned the nickname “garden gremlin.” The second we plant something, she sees it as a personal invitation to investigate, dig, stomp, sniff, and occasionally sample the merchandise. Last year, we planted a tomato plant and within hours Daisy had chewed on the leaves, dug up the dirt around it, and left the entire garden bed looking like a tiny tornado had passed through.

Honestly, it looked doomed.

I remember standing there thinking, “Well… there goes that tomato plant.”

But somehow, despite the chaos, despite the digging and disruption and less-than-perfect conditions, that little plant survived. Not only did it survive — it produced a massive harvest. More tomatoes than we expected from the plant that looked like it never stood a chance.

And maybe that’s exactly how God works in us, too.

So often, we think growth only happens in perfect conditions. We imagine faith flourishing in peaceful seasons, easy routines, and tidy circumstances. But life rarely looks like that.

Jesus Himself told us:

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”— John 16:33 (NIV)

This past week, I’ve been reminded that life was never promised to be easy. There are seasons where simply showing up feels hard. Seasons where we feel worn down, discouraged, stretched thin, or tempted to quit altogether.

And yet, I’m learning there is something deeply holy about continuing to show up anyway.

The world often tells us that comfort is the goal — that happiness means avoiding difficulty, inconvenience, or struggle. But Scripture paints a different picture. God calls us to perseverance. To obedience in ordinary moments. To faithfulness even when nobody sees it. To choose discipline over convenience and trust over comfort.

James 1:2-4 says:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

It’s not easy to rejoice in hard seasons. But God promises that there is fruit in the fire. That the act of showing up—when I don’t feel like it, when it’s uncomfortable, when the reward isn’t immediate—is actually shaping me. It's in those small, unseen moments of obedience that God is building character, endurance, and faith.

Today, I choose to keep showing up. To pray when I don’t feel like praying. To serve when it’s inconvenient. To love when it costs me something. To forgive even when it’s not reciprocated.

Because I know this: The hard things aren’t just obstacles—they’re opportunities. Opportunities for God to refine me, to strengthen me, and to make me more like Christ.

And one day, I’ll look back and see that the struggle wasn’t wasted. It was the soil where my faith took root and bloomed.

Lord, thank You for reminding me that You never promised ease, but You did promise Your presence. Help me to show up, even when it’s hard. Grow perseverance in me. Let my trials refine me, not define me. I trust You with the process, and I choose to walk forward, step by step, knowing that You are working in and through every challenge. Amen.