11/03/2026
Today is a special day for Jason and me. We call it our “Bench Day.” 🍂
18 years ago today, on November 3, 2008, Jason and I officially met while sitting on a bench at our local college. He was reading his Bible, and I simply asked him what he was reading. His answer was, “The Gospel of John.”
That one little question turned into a conversation that lasted a very long time. And still going 😉 Neither of us knew exactly what the future held, but I think we both knew that day there was something special between us.
Over the years, the college replaced those old benches, and we’ve often wondered whatever happened to the one where our story began. We’ve always said how much we’d love to have that bench, or even one of the original benches, because something so ordinary holds such an extraordinary memory for us.
As gardeners, we’ve learned that some of the most beautiful things in life begin with the smallest seeds. Sometimes we plant them intentionally, and other times God plants something in our lives before we even realize what’s beginning to grow.
Looking back, I think of that November day as a little seed God planted in both our lives.
18 years later, we’ve weathered plenty of storms, walked through seasons of loss, celebrated beautiful blessings, and grown in ways we never could have imagined. Like any garden, our life together hasn’t always been sunshine and flowers. There have been difficult seasons, times of pruning, and moments when we’ve simply had to trust God with what comes next.
But through it all, we’ve continued to grow together.
And perhaps that’s one of the sweetest lessons both life and gardening can teach us. Beautiful things don’t always begin with grand moments. Sometimes they begin quietly, in the most ordinary places, with something as simple as a conversation on a bench. We never really know what God may be planting in a moment, or how beautifully it may grow with time.
Never underestimate the beauty of small beginnings. Sometimes the seeds planted in the simplest moments become blessings that last a lifetime. ꕥ
