After some good follow-up conversations with a few of the guys from last week’s lesson, one theme kept coming up: regret and redemption.
Coincidentally, this week I saw a short video that felt like confirmation from the Holy Spirit that this was something worth sitting with a little longer. In the video, a woman shared some reflections about her mother, who looked back on her life with some regrets, especially when it came to how she had parented. Her mother didn’t pretend she had gotten it all right. But what stood out was what she said next: instead of staying stuck in guilt, she focused on planting a “second garden.” In her comments, she shared a verse that had anchored her during that season—Joel 2:25:
“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust have eaten…”
That phrase and that verse really made me stop and think.
It got me thinking about the seeds we plant. Some of those seeds grow into things we’re proud of. Others…not so much. Maybe it was a season where we weren’t walking with the Lord. Maybe we were just too young, too distracted, too overwhelmed to recognize the impact of our choices. And sometimes, we look back and feel a deep ache in our hearts: I wish I had done that differently.
Some of us might be living with the weight of those earlier gardens right now—mistakes we made in our youth, years we spent chasing things that didn’t matter, or relationships that suffered because we weren’t equipped to handle them well. And while we can’t go back and change the past, we can choose how we respond to it today. That’s the power of grace: not pretending it never happened, but believing God can still grow something good out of it.
But the beauty of God’s promise in Joel is that He doesn’t just forgive. He restores. He doesn’t just leave us in the aftermath of our old gardens—He invites us to start planting again. And this time, we plant with Him. This time, we know better. We can be more intentional. More faithful. More present.
So, here’s the encouragement: It’s never too late to start planting your second garden.
That might look like repairing a strained relationship. Showing up differently for your kids or grandkids. Speaking words you didn’t know how to say before. Choosing patience where there used to be anger. Or simply starting small—like praying with someone, saying “I’m sorry,” or just being present.
Wherever you are in life, you haven’t missed your chance. God’s not finished with your story.
Questions
- What’s one seed you’re glad you planted in your life? What fruit has come from it?
- Is there a part of your past that feels like a “lost” season? How have you seen (or hoped to see) God restore it?
- What might it look like for you to start planting a second garden today?
- Who in your life could benefit from your “second garden” seeds and what might that mean to their life?
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