Planted In The Unexpected

The Garden Table Blog

Entry 2:

By Karen Evans

A reflection on Jeremiah 29:4–11 and the beauty of surrendering to where God plants us.

We don’t always end up in places we would’ve chosen.

Sometimes, we’re sent—by loss, by circumstance, by a shift we never saw coming.

That was the case for the people of Israel when God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah:

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.”

—Jeremiah 29:5 (NIV)

In other words:

Don’t wait to live. Put down roots. Grow something where you are.

It sounds wild, doesn’t it?

To build, to plant, and to settle in a place that feels like exile.

But God wasn’t punishing them—He was positioning them.

Just like He sometimes does with us.

I’ve known that feeling.

I’ve lived through seasons where dreams crumbled.

Where I stood in the ashes of what once was.

Where nothing looked like the plan I had prayed for.

And yet, it was there—in that unfamiliar, broken ground—that I heard the whisper of the Master Gardener:

“Start planting again.”

So I did.

A little at a time.

A table was set.

A story was shared.

A seed of hope took root.

God never stopped writing the story.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.”

—Jeremiah 29:11

Maybe you’re in a place right now that feels like exile.

Unfamiliar. Painful. Unchosen.

Friend, this might just be the soil where your next season begins.

Start small.

Plant something.

Open your hands.

Invite someone to the table.

You never know what might bloom.

At the Garden Table: A Time to Reflect

Rooted in the Word

Take a moment.

Close your eyes.

Picture the place you’re standing in now—physically, emotionally, spiritually.

Now ask yourself:

• Have I resisted where I’ve been planted?

• What could I build or plant right here, right now?

• Who might God be calling me to grow beside?

Scripture Reflection

“Those who are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish in the courts of our God.”

—Psalm 92:13

Declaration Prayer

Lord, I trust that even here, You have a plan.

Even in unfamiliar soil, You are planting purpose.

I will not resist where You’ve placed me.

I will build. I will plant. I will pray. I will prosper—

not by my own strength, but by Your grace.

Today, I declare that I am not forsaken.

I am being formed.

And the story You are writing in this place

will be beautiful in its time.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.