Noonday Notes, Issue 11

Issue No. 11

August 15th, 2025

Sowing Hope & Being a Field

This Saturday, we will dig our shovels (and a rented tiller) into the soil for the first time at the Noonday Farm at Grace—land that, as far as I know, has never grown food before. It’s the start of a garden, but right now, it’s just an open, waiting field with compost on it.

I’ve been reflecting on how we have seasons in life where we break “new ground”. A new school year, job loss, shifts in relationships, starting a family, losing a loved one. And all of these “new gardens” in life can carry their share of unknowns. Fear and anxiety. Hopes and desires. I find myself wrestling with the what-ifs—What if I mess up the crop plan? What if the seeds don’t germinate? What if I make the wrong choice in the field or in life? I want to be the sower, the farmer, the one who guarantees the harvest. But the truth is, I’m just God’s field. He’s the grower. He’s the farmer.

1 Corinthians 3:9 reminds me, “For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”

Isaiah 55:10–11 tells us, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

As we begin this next season for Noonday Farms, I’m choosing to set aside fear and trust God with the growth—in the garden, in my life, and in our mission. If you can join us this Saturday, I’d love to see you. But if you can’t, would you pray for a bountiful season ahead? Pray that God will provide so that Noonday Farms may continue to fulfill its mission of meeting the physical and emotional needs of our food-insecure and homebound neighbors.

Our role is simple but not always easy: prepare the soil, plant the seeds, and trust the One who brings the growth. This week, whether the ground in front of us is literal or figurative, may we face it with courage, patience, and faith—knowing the harvest belongs to Him, and it’s all for His glory.

Read the rest of the newsletter here.