The Garden Series: Tending the Garden Within

"Your inward life is now sprouting, bringing forth fruit." — Song of Songs 4:12–15 (TPT)

This summer has been a season of waiting.

Waiting in God's promises. Waiting for direction and guidance. Waiting for the fulfillment of instructions I have already followed. It has been a season of battling the urge to produce and instead learning to obey, trust, and rest in Him—believing that it is up to Him to bring His promises to fruition, not through my striving, but through my surrender.

It has also been a season of feeling dry and empty at times, fighting discouragement in the waiting. Yet, interestingly enough, it has also been one of the most creative seasons I have experienced.

The Lord has been showing me that what is being produced in this season is what He has already planted inside of me.

So often I find myself looking outside of Him—or even outside of myself—for the answer. But He keeps gently leading me back to the same place: Himself.

As I rest in Him, delight in Him, talk with Him, ask, listen, and simply remain with Him, what begins to grow is not something manufactured from the outside. It is the fruit of what He has already planted within.

How Garden Series Collection Got Started

When I first started painting, the Lord showed me that one day I would paint fields, flowers, and gardens. I didn't know when that season would come.

Then on June 14, 2026, He simply spoke:

"It is time to paint the garden."

As I prayed, He brought me to these beautiful verses:

“My darling bride, my private paradise, fastened to my heart. A secret spring that no one else can have are you— my bubbling fountain hidden from public view. What a perfect partner to me now that I have you. 

Your inward life is now

sprouting, bringing forth fruit.

What a beautiful paradise unfolds within you. When I'm near you, I smell aromas of the finest spice,

for many clusters of my exquisite fruit

now grow within your inner

garden.

Here are the nine:

pomegranates of passion,

henna from heaven.

spikenard so sweet, 

saffron shining,

fragrant calamus from the cross,

sacred cinnamon,

branches of scented woods,

myrrh, like tears from a tree,

and aloe as eagles ascending.

You are a fountain of gardens. A well of living water springs up from within you, like a mountain brook flowing into my heart!”

— Song of Songs 4:12–15 (TPT)

These words have become the foundation of this new collection.

Returning to the Garden of Eden

The Garden Series is more than a collection of paintings. It is a visual expression of what God has been cultivating in my own heart.

He has planted a garden inside of me.

My inward life is sprouting and bringing forth fruit—not because I am producing it, but because I am learning to tend what He has planted.

The fruit is not ultimately for me.

It is for His delight.

The quiet moments in His presence. The daily choices to walk with Him. The conversations we have throughout the day. The surrender. The obedience. The resting. It is all for Him and for His pleasure.

I know this may sound very romantic, but that is how Jesus has been revealing Himself to me through this season.

Truthfully, I don't think I have fully grasped everything He is teaching me yet.

It certainly doesn't mean life has become easy or that every day is filled with clarity. There are still moments of discouragement, questions without answers, and days when I stumble. Yet every time, He reaches down His hand, lifts me up, and continues to teach me.

Sometimes I am puzzled.

Then He gives me a glimpse of understanding.

Sometimes I am confused.

Then He brings fresh revelation.

Walking with Him in the Cool of the Day

It is the beautiful, ongoing journey of walking with Him.

Jesus knows you.

He knows your heart.

He knows the language that speaks most deeply to your soul because He is the One who created you.

No one knows you better than the One who loves you so completely that He gave His life for you.

He isn't inviting us into a once-a-week encounter or simply another ministry experience.

He is inviting us into daily fellowship.

Daily walks.

Daily conversations.

He is always present.

Always guiding.

Always speaking.

As you look at each painting in this Garden Series, my prayer is that you would be reminded that God has planted something beautiful within you too. His desire is not that you strive to become fruitful, but that you remain close to Him, tending the garden He has already planted.

My Prayer for You

My prayer for you is the same prayer Paul prayed:

"I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of His calling—that is, the wealth of God's glorious inheritances that He finds in us, His holy ones." — Ephesians 1:18 (TPT)

May you discover the beauty of tending the garden within.

🎨 Pomegranates of Passion    Original Oil on Canvas • 2026

Now available in gallery.