089 | Inspiration: Community Garden
📸: Kristin Bloxham, 2021
📸: Kristin Bloxham, 2020
From time to time I’ll share in this space about people and projects that inspire me by creating space for renewal and healing in the world.
In 2019, my friend Kristin, her husband, and their two young boys created a community garden in their front yard. It was a way to connect with and serve their physical neighbors and their neighbors in the Jesus sense. They planted the garden and posted a sign inviting people to gather, take, and enjoy produce that was ripe or ready. They as a family would also gather produce as it was ready and deliver it to a nearby food shelf.
It was a bit of an experiment at the start because they weren’t sure how people would respond, but it bore fruit. They added a second raised garden bed in 2020 and, because the need is so great, a third this spring.
Kristin and I were also colleagues at my former church. I remember her telling us about this project during our staff devotions and being so moved by the beauty and simplicity of it; but I was also moved by their imagination for how they as a family could participate in the healing of the world starting in their own little corner.
🥕 They saw a need: People who rely on the food shelf have limited access to fresh produce.
🥒 They asked good questions that sparked imagination: What can we do? How can we do this as a family?
🌽 They tapped into abilities and interests they already had.
🍅 They entered in as neighbors and partners, not saviors.
🥬 They took a chance. They were willing to try something and learn what worked and what didn’t.
This garden is also a great reminder that there can be seasons to how we engage in the world for the sake of the healing of the world. In this case, there is a planning season, a planting season, and a growing and harvest season. Then the beds are prepped for winter rest before the cycle begins again.
What is a way—big or small—that you currently or would like to participate in the healing of the world from your little corner?
What need touches your heart?
Is this a season of engagement or rest and renewal for how you use your abilities and interests to serve others in the world?
📸: Kristin Bloxham, 2019
