Humanity’s First Job – Tend a Garden

Sunday, July 26, 2026

Shonda - LGBTQIA+ Person of Faith

Quote

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.”

~Genesis 2:15 (NRSVUE)

Devotion

Late July in the garden is humbling work. The early enthusiasm of spring planting is long gone. The weeds are relentless. Some plants have flourished beyond expectation while others have simply given up despite your best efforts. Everything needs water, needs attention, needs something from you when you’re already tired from the heat.

But here’s what I’ve learned from gardening: you can’t force things to grow on your timeline. You can’t shame a tomato vine into producing fruit faster. You can’t guilt a flower into blooming before it’s ready. All you can do is show up consistently, provide what’s needed, remove what’s harmful, and trust the process.

The first job God gives humanity isn’t to build a temple or establish a religious system. It’s to tend a garden. To care for something living, something growing, something that requires patience and attention and the acceptance that you’re not fully in control of the outcome.

I think about how much of Queer life involves tending gardens that others have neglected or tried to destroy. We cultivate communities where people can grow. We create spaces where identities can unfold at their own pace. We remove the weeds of shame and internalized homophobia. We water each other’s growth with affirmation and presence. We wait, sometimes for years, for people we love to bloom into self-acceptance.

It's slow work. Unglamorous work. The kind of work that doesn’t photograph well for social media or fit neatly into success stories. But it’s holy work. It’s the work God started with, and it’s the work we’re still called to: tending what’s been entrusted to us, creating conditions for flourishing, and trusting that growth happens in its own time.

Your life is a garden. So is your community. So is every person you encounter who’s still trying to figure out if it’s safe to grow. Tend them well.

Reflection

1.    What needs tending in your life right now? What requires consistent care and attention rather than dramatic intervention?

2.    Where might you be trying to force growth (in yourself or others) instead of patiently providing what’s needed and trusting the process?

Action

If you have access to any kind of garden space—even a single potted plant—spend time tending it this week. Water it, remove dead leaves, notice what’s growing. Let it be a meditation on patience, care, and trust. If you don’t have plants, tend something else that requires ongoing attention: a friendship, a creative project, your own well-being. Show up for it without demanding immediate results.