Imagine walking through your own kitchen with baskets full of delicious, locally grown vegetables from a community garden. This image truly represents the potential of locally sourced food to not only nourish our bodies but also provide community connections that bring people closer to soil. Deacon Ivey Chavis is leading the expansion of the community garden on Cross Link Road. He generously imparts practical gardening tips to his fellow disciples, ministry leaders at Christian Faith Baptist Church, and other community members who work alongside him. Deacon Chavis says that gardening is rewarding in so many ways. Garden life is reflective of God’s love and care and His desire that all come to know Him (Matthew 13:3-8). Just as the farmer went out to sow his seeds, we are sowing seeds in a garden so that it produces vegetables for God’s people.

This month, let us learn about Kale. Kale is like spinach and is related to the cabbage family. It can be incorporated into salads, soups, or sautés for a nutritious punch. You can eat it fresh, deep fried, baked with bacon and butter, and as chips. It’s brimming with magnesium, a mineral linked to blood pressure regulation. Kale contains antioxidants and many other minerals and vitamins like A, C, K, and beta-carotene to help you stay healthy. Exodus 23:25 tells us, “Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you.” God entrusts us to sow labor of love to his people.