A New Season for Growth

This month, my blog posts will focus on different themes from my book, Even the Ashes Bloom (now available for preorder on Amazon). Today, I’m sharing a passage from chapter 3, titled “A New Season of Growth.” May your heart be encouraged.

“I have a brown thumb. Like, impressively so. If thriving plants had a group chat, mine would send out SOS messages. But even I know this much: surface-level fixes only go so far.

The same is true for our hearts.

Temporary adjustments might make things look better on the outside. We try to ‘clean up’ our attitudes or patch over our pain with busyness or positivity. But if we never address what’s taking root underneath—fear, bitterness, shame, pride—then nothing truly changes. We find ourselves stuck in the same cycles, wondering why the struggle keeps resurfacing.

But when we invite God into the deeper work, He doesn’t just tidy up what’s visible. He renews what’s beneath the surface. And here’s the beautiful part: He doesn’t leave that space barren. He prepares us for a new season—planting hope where weariness once lived.

Healing isn’t only about what’s removed—it’s also about what takes root in its place.

I still hear that old perfectionist voice sometimes. But now, thanks to those counseling sessions, I recognize it for what it is—a weed God never planted. I’ve learned to pause, take a breath, and remember: growth isn’t about getting it all right. It’s about showing up, even when it’s messy.

Growth begins not with striving, but with surrender. Not with our own strength, but with the Spirit’s power. We don’t grow because we try harder. We grow because we yield ourselves to the Master Gardener.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:7, NIV). It’s the Holy Spirit who brings transformation. Our job is to stay open, to be willing soil.

Sometimes growth looks like big breakthroughs. But often, it’s small: choosing peace over control, forgiveness over resentment, or truth over old lies. It’s learning to sit with God in the silence, trusting that even if we can’t see the fruit yet, something is happening beneath the surface.

Because it always starts there, underground, unseen.”

~Even the Ashes Bloom: Finding Beauty When You Feel Broken, pg. 55-56

Now available for preorder on Amazon!