What Seedlings Taught Me About Love, Growth, and Letting Go

Growing Seedlings

Spring always brings me back to the roots of where it all began. As I plan for each growing season, I find myself reflecting on the lessons the garden keeps teaching me—about people, purpose, patience, and what it means to nurture growth with love.

Each year, as I begin planning for garden season, I find myself reflecting on the abundance of the year before, the learning curves that came with it, the desire to give back to the earth and to my Creator, and the gratitude that rises through divine timing. I think about the people I meet while selling plant starts, the stories they share, and the beautiful reminder that growth is never just about what is planted in the soil.

The plant starts story is one that reflects the core of my heart.

I have always viewed people through a lens of love. I believe each of us is here for a purpose, created uniquely, and given the ability to influence the spaces and people around us. I have always had a heart for the underdog—for the ones who live quietly in the ordinary, sometimes settling for survival without fully seeing that growth, healing, and flourishing may still be ahead.

For me, seedlings bring that deep love for humanity right to the surface.

The first year I started seeds, I could not bring myself to thin them out. I did not have the heart to discard the extras. So instead, I carefully separated each tiny seedling and gave it its own nutrient-dense environment and space to grow. The newbie in me had no idea just how many little babies would become plant teenagers, all begging for the chance to show the world what they could become.

Before long, they were everywhere.

My kitchen, dining room, and laundry room were overtaken by trays of growing starts, each one needing the right balance of light, rest, nourishment, and hope for what was ahead. And honestly, my heart was full.

There was something deeply familiar about it all.

Much like the years of raising my five children—now grown adults—our doors were always open. There was always room for one more at the table, one more conversation, one more life being nurtured in the in-between. Watching those seedlings stretch and strengthen reminded me so much of the teenagers who once filled my home: eager to be older than they were, anxious for what was next, and slowly learning that growth cannot be rushed.

Even now, I smile thinking of it.

Playing music for the plants, encouraging them through their fragile stages, and waiting through the hardening-off process before they were ready for the outdoors all carried echoes of those years of motherhood. The rhythm, the anticipation, the patience, the joy, the mess, the hope—it all felt familiar. It brought me back to fun-filled mealtime conversations around the Storms family kitchen table and the sacredness of simply being present for the growth unfolding in front of you.

Watching seedlings grow, and embracing the truth of reaping what you sow, became part of the inspiration behind Root2Rise Creations’ first farm stand design. It became evident to me that they were never meant to stay tucked safely inside forever. At some point, they all had to leave the coop, find their roots, and grow into the place where they were meant to bear fruit and give back.

That truth stays with me still.

For the past three years, Root2Rise Creations has offered garden starts to the community. Each year, they are made available at a minimal cost, with no intention of profit. The funds go back into the tools and supplies needed to sustain the work and to help provide seed boxes around Huntington. Garden starts are also given to local charities for community gardens, and during this season, the urban homestead becomes a place where others can come tour, ask questions, learn, and share in the experience.

What I treasure most is not just the growing.

It is the people.

People from all walks of life stop by for starts and end up sharing their stories. In those conversations, I am reminded again and again that growth takes many forms. We are all tending something. We are all becoming something. And sometimes the simplest things—a seedling, a garden row, a conversation on a spring afternoon—can remind us just how deeply connected we are to one another, to the earth, and to the One who makes all growth possible.

That is part of the heart behind Root2Rise.

It has never only been about products. It has always been about tending life with love, making room for growth, and trusting that what is nurtured with care will one day bear good fruit.

What has nature, gardening, or tending something small taught you about life?

Root2Rise Creations 2025 Farm Stand

Watching seedlings grow has reminded me again and again that not everything is meant to stay tucked safely inside forever. Some things must be nurtured for a season, then released to take root where they are meant to flourish. In many ways, that has become part of the heart behind Root2Rise Creations.