If you’ve ever had to walk away from a dream, from something you deeply loved, know that it may not be forever. It may be for only a season. But even if it is, God’s plans will be for something far better. Our scripture cultivations for this month remind you to trust God with your dreams.
Enlarge your house; Build an addition. Spread out your home, And spare no expense. Soon you will be bursting at the seams, Your descendants will occupy other nations and resettle the ruined cities.
Back in 2018, when BTFT was flourishing, I had a 30X40 canvas on which I’d painted my fig tree icon. And each time someone joined the Figs Community, I’d write their name on a heart and place it as a leaf on the tree.
It was a visual reminder of the women I was serving. And on those days that I wasn’t sure I was making a difference or just needed a little inspiration; it was always there to encourage me. The tree also reminded to pray for them (you), individually, by name.
Then, in late 2018, I was offered a full-time position that consumed more than its share of my time, energy, and attention. After about four months of complete overwhelm, I made the heart-wrenching decision to step away from Beneath The Fig Tree.
Closed the website and Facebook page.
Let the domain expire.
Wrote a farewell email.
And said “goodbye.”
A year later, we started packing down our house to remodel and put it on the market. Not knowing where we would live after we sold our home and not knowing if God would ever shine on Fig Tree again, I made another tearful decision… to throw away the 30X40 tree that represented 3 years with a community of women I deeply loved.
It felt so final. I had to move on and let go, I told myself.
About a year after selling our home, two years after saying goodbye to the tree, I sensed God saying it was “go” time. Time for Fig Tree to bloom again.
Then, He showed me how Fig Tree was like a plant that goes dormant in the winter. Though it didn’t produce fruit, and the leaves browned and fell to the ground, it didn’t die. It simply entered a period of inactivity to conserve energy until better growing conditions returned.
He also showed me how He’d tended to me in those three fig-less years. He healed some broken places, pruned some dead branches, and pollinated me in new areas so I could produce new fruit.
And then, Spring came as Spring always does. With lots of sunlight and rain. The perfect conditions for growing.
And God said, “go.”
Because we currently live in an RV at our state park –that’s a whole other God-story for another time – the thought of replacing the canvas tree never occurred to me.
Until…
*QUICK BACKSTORY HERE– If you don’t know me personally or haven’t known me long, you may not know that I love to paint. It’s one of the things I most enjoy doing with God. So having a studio is one of the few things I’ve missed since moving to the state park. I’ve no room to paint or be creative.
But about a month ago, God arranged for me to have a studio in town, just a couple blocks from where I work.
Shortly after I started moving into it, I realized I now had room for a new tree. I was so excited and overwhelmed by His goodness that tears quickly filled my eyes. God is so good. ~insert all the tears here~
When I went to the art supply store to buy a new canvas, God told me I needed to buy two 30 X 40 canvases.
Then, He whispered, “expand your tent pegs.”
He said our community is going to be bursting at the seams and there will be too many of you to fit on one canvas.
*ha! I just realized that tents used to be made of canvas. Isn’t God awesome?
So, I turned the canvases on their long sides, stacked them up and painted a 40 X 60 tree. I’m adding the hearts now, so if you’re a part of the FIGS Community Facebook page, you’ll soon see your name up there.
Okay, back to the reason I told you this story. Well, reasons.
- First, I pray this encourages you if you’ve had to walk away from a dream, from something you deeply loved. Know that it may not be forever. It may be for only a season.
But even if it is, God’s plans will be for something far better. *queue the RV story here - The second reason, is because it brings us to the focus for our Scripture Cultivations for this month.
This month, we’ll be cultivating verses that remind us
we can trust God with our dreams.
What are Scripture Cultivations?
If you’re new to the Figs Community, you may be wondering why I call them Scripture Cultivations instead of a Scripture Writing Plan or Scripture Reading Plan. Hop on over to this page to find out more.
You have lots of options! Start by printing off the Scripture Cultivations Plan for free.
Prefer listening? Tune in to our podcast episodes.
If visuals are your thing, catch us on YouTube for insightful videos.
And for some community vibes, grab a cuppa and hop over to the FIGS Community Facebook Group.
