🌿 Preparing with Purpose: I Didn’t Learn These Skills Overnight

How God patiently taught me stewardship through the ordinary seasons of life.

Jul 02, 2026

I used to think preparedness was something people either knew or didn’t know. Looking back, I realize it has been a lifelong classroom where God has patiently taught me one lesson at a time.

If someone had told me twenty-five years ago that one day I would be tending a garden, preserving food from our harvest, drying herbs throughout my home, milling fresh flour, and baking sourdough bread, I probably would have smiled politely and assumed they had mistaken me for someone else.

That simply wasn’t the season of life God had me in.

Shortly after graduating high school, I married my high school sweetheart. I enlisted in the Army Reserve while my husband served on active duty in the United States Army. After five years of service, our family welcomed twins, and I made the decision to leave the Reserves to devote my time to caring for them. Later, I worked in the private sector while continuing to support my husband’s military career throughout his twenty years of active-duty service.

Those years were full of blessings, but they were also filled with the demands that military families know well. Frequent moves, changing assignments, raising children, and balancing work left little opportunity to develop many of the practical skills I enjoy today. Growing a garden, preserving food, or learning about herbs simply wasn’t the season of life God had given me. Like many families, I considered myself prepared if I bought a little extra when staples went on sale at the commissary.

Looking back now, I don’t see those years as time lost. I see them as another season of God’s faithful instruction. Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us that there is “a time to every purpose under the heaven.” God rarely teaches us everything at once. More often, He prepares us gradually, giving us the lessons we need for the season we are living in while quietly preparing us for seasons we cannot yet see.

🌿 Every Skill Began with a Simple Question

Looking back, I realize many of the skills I value today began not with expertise, but with curiosity. God often uses simple questions to open doors to deeper wisdom.

When my husband retired from the Army and we settled into one place, we finally had the opportunity to build a garden. We certainly did not begin as experienced gardeners. Like many beginners, we quickly discovered that enthusiasm alone does not produce healthy vegetables.

We started simply. Rather than attempting to grow everything from seed immediately, we purchased young plants while learning how to build healthy soil and understand the unique conditions of our garden. As our confidence grew, so did our willingness to try new things. Eventually we began starting more and more of our own plants from seed.

Looking back, I am grateful we didn’t try to master everything at once. Those early successes built confidence for the next lesson.

Zechariah 4:10 asks, “For who hath despised the day of small things?”

I believe God often develops faithful stewards through small beginnings. One garden bed becomes two. One successful harvest leads to another. Before long, what once seemed intimidating begins to feel familiar.

🌿 God Often Teaches Through Unexpected Circumstances

Like many people, the events of 2020 became a turning point in my journey.

Our garden was producing more vegetables than we could possibly eat fresh, and I found myself asking a question I had never seriously considered before.

“What am I going to do with all of this?”

That single question introduced me to pressure canning.

At first, my goal was simply to preserve the vegetables we had worked so hard to grow. Before long, I realized I could preserve much more than produce. Today our pantry often contains jars of sloppy joes, stew bases, soups, goulash base, chicken bone broth, and other meals that make busy school days much easier. As a teacher, I know how valuable it is to come home after a full day and have a nourishing lunch or dinner already waiting.

Those shelves remind me that stewardship is usually built long before it is needed. Proverbs 21:5 tells us, “The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness.” Diligence is rarely dramatic. It is simply faithfulness practiced consistently over time.

Our garden isn’t perfect, but it is teaching me something. Between the vegetables, herbs, flowers, and even the weeds, I’m reminded that faithful stewardship isn’t about having everything in perfect order. It’s about showing up, tending what God has entrusted to us, and trusting Him to bring the growth.

🌿 Sometimes God Uses Our Difficulties to Spark New Learning

One of the most unexpected chapters of this journey began with my own health.

After years of searching for answers, I reached a point where modern medicine could only do so much. I remain grateful for physicians and for the many ways medicine has helped me, but I also found myself asking a different question.

“What has God already placed within His creation that I have never taken the time to understand?”

That question opened the door to learning about herbs and their medicinal benefits. My interest wasn’t born from rejecting modern medicine. It grew from a desire to become a better steward of the body God had entrusted to me. Psalm 104:14 reminds us that God gave “herb for the service of man.” The more I studied His creation, the more I found myself in awe of His wisdom.

Even now, I would never call myself an expert. Quite the opposite—I feel like a student. This year alone I learned about Holy Basil and Self-Heal, two herbs I had never seriously considered before. During the summer months, herbs are drying throughout our home, waiting to become teas, tinctures, and salves that we can use throughout the year.

The more I learn, the more I realize how much I still don’t know. Every growing season teaches me something new, every book introduces another idea worth exploring, and every conversation with someone more experienced reminds me that wisdom is a lifelong pursuit. I have found that humility makes a much better teacher than pride ever could.

Proverbs 1:5 says, “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning.” Wisdom is not demonstrated by knowing everything. It is demonstrated by remaining teachable.

Some lessons have come from books. Others from experienced gardeners, local farmers, church friends, or simply observing what works over time. God has often answered my prayers for wisdom by placing knowledgeable people in my path.

**How many gifts from God’s creation have I walked past without ever recognizing them? This year, I discovered one of them: self-heal.**

🌿 Stewardship Is a Shared Responsibility

One of the greatest lessons this journey has taught me is that stewardship was never meant to be a one-person responsibility. It has taken us years to discover that we don’t have to be good at all the same things.

We simply need to faithfully steward the gifts God has given each of us.

My husband naturally became the manager of our garden. He enjoys planning, preparing the beds, improving the soil, deciding what will be planted, and faithfully caring for the garden throughout the growing season. I gladly assist him in those responsibilities.

As harvest season begins, however, our roles naturally change. I enjoy preserving what God has provided through canning, dehydrating, freezing, drying herbs, and preparing meals for the months ahead, while he assists wherever needed.

Neither of us is responsible for everything.

Instead, we have learned to serve one another according to the gifts, interests, and abilities God has given each of us.

The same is true beyond our home. We purchase much of our beef from local farmers because they possess knowledge, land, and experience that we do not. We often buy tomatoes from a Mennonite farmers stand because they can grow them far better than we can with the space available in our garden. Rather than seeing this as dependence, I have come to see it as community.

Paul paints this beautiful picture in 1 Corinthians 12 when he describes the body of Christ. God intentionally gives different gifts to different people so that we may serve one another. I believe that same principle strengthens marriages, families, churches, and communities. Stewardship flourishes when we stop trying to do everything ourselves and begin appreciating the unique ways God has equipped those around us.

🌿 Looking Back, I See a Patient Teacher

As I reflect on the past twenty-five years, I realize God wasn’t simply teaching me how to garden, preserve food, dry herbs, or bake bread.

He was teaching me stewardship. God didn’t teach me everything at once because I didn’t need everything at once. In His perfect timing, He faithfully gave me each lesson when it was time to learn it.

My years in the Army Reserve taught me discipline, while military life taught our family flexibility and resilience. Motherhood taught me that investing in people is one of God’s greatest callings, and that every season has its own purpose.

Gardening taught me patience. Canning taught me diligence. My health journey taught me to keep learning. Marriage has taught me the beauty of shared responsibilities and complementary gifts.

At the time, each season felt unrelated. Looking back, I can see that God was weaving them together into a life of faithful stewardship.

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” - Colossians 3:23

One curiosity led to another. My husband became interested in sourdough baking, which eventually led him to fresh-milling wheat berries. At first, I simply enjoyed eating the bread. Then I began learning why freshly milled flour retains nutrients that commercial flour often loses during processing. It reminded me once again that God continues to teach us when we remain willing to learn.

James 1:5 has become one of my favorite promises: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God… and it shall be given him.” That invitation reaches far beyond our spiritual lives. We can ask Him for wisdom in our homes, our kitchens, our gardens, our finances, our health, and every responsibility He has entrusted to us.

Today, I still have much to learn.

Every season introduces another lesson.

Every garden teaches something new.

Every challenge invites me to depend on God’s wisdom a little more.

Looking back, I realize I wasn’t simply learning practical skills. The Lord was patiently shaping my heart into that of a faithful steward.

One garden bed.

One jar.

One loaf of bread.

One herb.

One lesson at a time.

🌿 I’d Love to Hear from You:

What is one practical skill God has led you to learn that has changed the way you steward His provision?

I’d love to hear your story in the comments.

🌿 Journey Through the Series

Whether you’re just beginning or returning for another read, I invite you to walk through the complete Prepared, Not Panicked series from the beginning.

🌿 This article is part of a new summer series, Preparing with Purpose, where I’ll be sharing practical ways our family is seeking to steward God’s provision more intentionally. Later this week, I’ll launch the companion series, Prepared, Not Panicked, which will explore the biblical principles behind these efforts.

Paid subscribers receive access to the full series, printable resources, deeper reflections, recipes, and future content as we continue walking this path together.

If this series has resonated with you, I’d love for you to continue the journey with me 🤍

🌿Did this stir something in you? Consider sharing it with a friend who may be asking similar questions.

🌿 Related Reflections

Scripture Note: Throughout the Preparing with Purpose series, Scripture references will generally be quoted from the King James Version (KJV), one of the translations I use often in my personal study.

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