Miles Mercy Grit

🌺 This cup of tea started almost a year ago at the Riverstead.

What began as a small roselle plant grew into a towering 6-foot harvest, producing calyxes that eventually became this beautiful cup of tea.
📝 Riverstead lesson:
God’s provision often takes time.
Sometimes the gifts God places in our lives are growing long before we recognize them. So many potential health benefits 🙌🏾🤓

📖 “Every good and perfect gift is from above.” — James 1:17

How do you enjoy your roselle plant?⬇️🌱

Day 6 of rest, we see an owl sitting where roads meet. Life happens at crossroads. Crossroads are rarely comfortable places. You can go left. You can go right. You can stay where you are.
Trust God to move forward. The owl reminded me of how God watches over us.
Even when we don’t see Him working.
Even when storms are gathering.
Even when life feels uncertain.
He sees farther than we do🙌🏾

“He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” — Psalm 121:4

Day 2 of rest and we remain optimistic and grateful.

The doctor said take it easy. TJ heard: “Maybe finish that project.” 😂

After a recent medical scare, I’m grateful to see him up, moving around, and being himself. Sometimes the little things—working on a table, laughing together, tackling a simple project—feel a lot bigger than they used to.
Take nothing for granted. ❤️
Anyone else have a husband who can’t sit still?⬇️

🌱 The ugly side of gardening.

For the past couple of weeks, family needed my attention more than the garden.

When I finally had time to walk through the beds, I found ugly pests, damaged leaves, missing fruit, and plants struggling to keep up.

It’s tempting to only share the harvests and successes. But this is part of gardening too.

Sometimes life pulls us away. Sometimes things we worked hard to build need extra attention. Sometimes we lose a few plants.

The good news?

Grateful I was given a tomorrow, another chance to start again.🙌🏾

🌿 Even the strongest, healthiest plants use support.

This cucumber didn’t stop growing because there was a fence in the way. It used the support around it to climb higher and produce fruit.

The same is true for us.

📝Riverstead lesson: Sometimes we think strength means carrying every burden alone. But even flourishing people need support—from God, family, friends, mentors, and community.

There is wisdom in accepting help. There is strength in staying connected.

The goal isn’t proving how much you can handle by yourself. The goal is to keep growing. Keep living🙏🏾

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

We set out to check the trotline and came back with a huge lesson in Texas wildlife.

We had never encountered an alligator snapping turtle before. After learning more about this protected species, we released it back to safety.

Living on the river continues to teach us something new.

Full story now on YouTube.🎥😇🐢

After weeks of watering, fertilizing, checking for pests, and talking to my plants… we finally have ONE purple bell pepper at the Riverstead. 😂🫑

At this rate, salsa should be ready sometime in 2027.🤣🤭😁

Still a dopamine spike🙌🏾

Got to use my first homegrown zucchini harvest🙌🏾🙏🏾.
They said nobody eats zucchini, so I put chocolate and pecans in it to be safe. 🍫🌰🥒 The teen son was shook when he found out there were vegetables involved; the husband asked for his second piece with a glass of milk; and the daughter who 'doesn't eat zucchini' ate most of the loaf. Success!

🤫🍞 Have you ever had to sneak veggies into your family's food?👇🏾
Anymore creative recipes to share? Follow and comment below ⬇️

POV: You ask your adult daughter to record a simple gardening video.

What could possibly go wrong with a person with ADHD? 😅

The camera wandered. The conversation wandered. The attention wandered.

Then she found a ladybug…
And chose violence. 😭🐞
📝Riverstead lesson: Growth looks different from every generation.

At least we finally harvested the “famous” pretzel zucchini🥴🤣

After work garden check at the Riverstead.

One thing gardening has taught me is that harvesting isn’t just about picking food—it’s also about protecting the plant that’s producing it.

The gentler we harvest, the better chance the plant has to keep growing, flowering, and producing.

Today’s harvest included cucumbers, okra, and long beans. Gotta figure out the zucchini🧐

📝Riverstead lesson: Sometimes the little things make the biggest difference.

Pick often.
Harvest gently.
Enjoy the rewards.🌱