My Journey to Faith

My journey in the garden began with a single seed planted in my heart at a young age. At the time, I never realized that what seemed so small would one day grow into something deeply meaningful. Through every season, when i got older, God used gardening to teach me about faith, patience, purpose, and growth. What started as a simple love for plants became a reminder that, just like a seed, the things God plants in our lives can flourish into something far greater than we ever imagined

This story touched my soul.

Anna K

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Planting the Seeds

When I was about seven years old, my life changed overnight. My family had fallen apart. My mother had gone back to jail, and my father had just returned to California after being gone for three years. In the middle of all the uncertainty, we moved into my grandmother’s house. As a child, I felt lost, broken, and unsure of what the next day would bring.

One afternoon, my grandmother called me outside to her front-yard garden. It was a simple but beautiful garden filled with peppers, tomatoes, beans, herbs, and flowers. In her hands was an empty tin can from the kitchen. She smiled and said, “I’m going to show you how to grow a bean plant.”

Together, we poked holes in the bottom of the can with a screwdriver and filled it with soil from the garden. She had me press my finger into the dirt to make a small hole, and carefully place a single bean seed inside. I covered it with soil, watered it, and set it out in the garden.

A few days later, that tiny seed sprouted.

Every day, I would help water it until eventually she planted it into the garden itself. At the time, I didn’t realize the impact that small moment would have on my life. But somehow, that memory rooted itself deeply within me. Even now, I can still see it clearly, as if it happened yesterday.

Looking back, I believe God was planting more than a seed in a tin can that day. He was planting hope. In a season of confusion and instability, the garden became a quiet reminder that even in broken places, life can still grow.

Looking back, I realized that with good seeds and good soil, there will always be a harvest.

How it all started

Seeds come in many shapes, colors, and sizes, but some of the most powerful seeds we will ever plant cannot be held in our hands. They are planted through acts of kindness, words of encouragement, love, compassion, and simply taking the time to ask someone, “How are you doing?” Sometimes, just being present for a person during a difficult season can plant a seed that changes their life forever.

Every word and every action we sow into others has the potential to grow into something beautiful. Seeds planted in love produce a harvest of kindness, hope, healing, and strength.

“A good gardener chooses their seeds wisely.”
— Alfredo Gomez

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

2 Corinthians 9:6

Cold and Hot Stratification

Trials and before the growth

Growing up, church was more of a place I attended than a place I understood. As a child, I would spend Saturday nights at my cousins’ house, which meant going to a small Spanish church with them on Sundays. I didn’t understand the language, so I would sit quietly, watching the people and studying the room around me. I was present physically, but spiritually untouched — just another kid sitting in service without truly knowing God for myself.

As I got older, one of my parents began taking us to church regularly. In youth service, I felt out of place because I didn’t know the Bible or the answers everyone else seemed to know. Hoping things would feel different, I started attending the main sanctuary instead, but I still felt disconnected. The services felt cold and distant to me. Everything was quiet, structured, and unfamiliar, and deep inside I felt alone.

When I turned 18, I walked away from church completely. I fell into sin and began facing some of the hardest seasons of my life — pain, abandonment, heartbreak, loss, and struggles that left me questioning everything, including my faith in God. What I didn’t realize at the time was that even in my darkest moments, God had not abandoned me. The brokenness I experienced would eventually become the beginning of a deeper journey — one where pain would turn into purpose, and where God would begin growing the roots of the seeds of transformation in my life.

Just because the seeds haven't sprouted yet doesn't mean there is no growth happening. Be patient, for as the seeds grows it roots to support the coming harvest.

-Alfredo

2 Corinthians 4:16

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

Never become discouraged by the seeds you sow. Not every seed grows at the same pace. Some begin to sprout quickly, while others take time beneath the surface before anyone can see the growth. But in the right season, the harvest will come

• What God Planted, the Enemy Could Not Destroy

The Enemy Tried to Steal the Seed God Planted