Matthew 21:33–46

The Garden God Gave Me

I’ve never been much of a gardener, literally. My flowers wilt, and any plant left in my care quickly learns the meaning of “survival of the fittest.” But since childhood, God has planted a different kind of garden in me — one made not of soil and stems, but of stories, words, and the quiet desire to help others find Him in their own tangled places.

This garden didn’t grow overnight. I tended it slowly: collecting stories in journals, scribbling thoughts on scraps of paper, taking writing classes, joining communities where critique was offered with love, and opening old wounds so others might feel less alone in theirs. Writing has never been about bravado for me. It has been about stewardship — tending what God planted, even when the pruning hurt.

Last week, one of the fruits of that long tending finally bloomed: Finding Father: A Magical Quest of Faith, Hope, and Autism was published by ShakeRidge Press.  My prayer is simple — that God will place it into the hands of those who are hurting, and that its pages will whisper hope into places that feel forgotten.

Matthew 21:33–46

In Matthew 21, Jesus tells the parable of a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, dug a winepress, and built a watchtower. He prepared everything needed for fruit to flourish. But when harvest time came, the tenants refused to give the landowner what belonged to him. They withheld the fruit. They rejected the messengers. They even killed the ones who came to collect the first fruits.

The warning is sobering: God entrusts each of us with a vineyard — gifts, opportunities, callings, and stories meant to bear fruit for His Kingdom. But we can choose to ignore, misuse, or hide what He has planted. The question Jesus presses is simple:

Will we tend our vineyard faithfully, or will we hold back what God intends to use?

What This Means for Us

Most of us aren’t preaching sermons or writing books, but every believer has a garden entrusted to them. Maybe yours looks like hospitality, teaching children, praying faithfully, encouraging others, or quietly showing up for someone who is hurting. Maybe it’s a skill you’ve practiced for years, or a story you’ve lived that someone else needs to hear.

Tending your garden means:

• noticing what God has planted
• nurturing it with humility and perseverance
• offering its fruit back to Him for the sake of others

For me, that means writing — even when it requires vulnerability, even when it means revisiting grief, even when it stretches me. Before my latest book was published, Pastor Brandon prayed over it with me, and we offered it to God. For you, it may be something entirely different. But the call is the same:

Don’t bury what God has planted. Tend it. Steward it. Offer it.

A Clear Takeaway

God has entrusted each of us with a garden — a place where His gifts in us can grow. Our calling is not to compare our garden to someone else’s, but to faithfully tend what He has planted and offer its fruit back to Him.

Closing Prayer

Lord, thank You for the vineyard You have entrusted to each of us. Help us recognize the gifts You’ve planted and give us courage to tend them faithfully. I lift up Finding Father and ask that You place it into the hands of those who need its message most. May every reader feel seen, comforted, and gently led toward Your healing love. Make our lives places where Your grace grows, and Your Kingdom advances. Amen.

Would you like to read Allen’s story of grief and the journey we took after his father died? It is available on Amazon!