The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

– 2 Corinthians 9:6

One of the biggest lessons in gardening has got to be “you reap what you sow”: if you don’t plant it, you don’t get to harvest it. If you don’t water it, it doesn’t grow. Of course, just because you planted it today, you don’t get to harvest it today. Sometimes the work of personal growth and recovery can be hard because the work you did today might not pay off today. But it will bear fruit, if you can diligently wait for it and keep doing the work.

Our summer gardens continue to be a big part life for the women of Coram Deo. Beyond just “something to do”, the gardens beautify our common spaces, provide fresh produce and opportunities to try new things, and, as always, serve as a living reminder that the work is worth it — just because you didn’t see a big change today or harvest a tomato today doesn’t mean that change isn’t coming. Do your work. Let God do His work. And reap the fruits of your labor!

2022 Garden Gallery

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  Humble Beginnings

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I don’t know about you, but the holidays can often bring a jumble of mixed emotions. On the one hand, there are all the traditional high points that we can look forward to – time with family, big meals with all the fixings, preparing for Christmas gifts … it is easy to look at the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s with Hallmark colored glasses. At the same time, working in recovery, I know that this season can bring reminders of family we can’t be with, friends lost, the stress of less-than-ideal relationships, realization that we don’t always know if we can even afford Christmas this year, dinners alone, and more.

This tension can be paralyzing, we can freeze in the face of the huge differences between what is happening right now and what thing could or should be like. We can easily feel like our efforts don’t matter, that the problems are too great or too numerous, and that none of our hard work has made any difference. One of the primary ways we fight this in recovery work is through gratitude.

Gratitude helps us tell the truth

One of the daily stuggles, for all of us, is to find ways to hold on to what is true and reject the lies around us. In moments when we can feel like there is nothing good in the world and that nothing matters, we can remind ourselves of the truth of things. We may be tempted to tell ourselves that another year has gone by and nothing has really changed, but the truth may be that this will be our first sober thanksgiving. We can give thanks for that. Or perhaps the darker voices in our heads would have us believe that we are alone and unloved, giving thanks for friends, for family, for that recovery sponsor reminds us that, in fact, we are loved by many more than we might think. Gratitude can help open our eyes to the good around us when the world is busy pointing out all the wrongs.

Gratitude can multiply

In my own practice of gratitude, one of my favorite moments is when I start with something seemingly small, often because I’m struggling to think of something to be grateful for, and it turn into a chain of Thanksgiving. I can get to the end of the day, worn out and tired, and I don’t want to take the time to be thankful. The practice seems silly, and if you knew the day I had … and so I thank God that I have a place to lay down my head and rest. And that reminds me of the donation made by  SIFV of so many pillows for the Coram Deo houses (it’s a great story you can see on Facebook) for incoming women. And then I find myself being thankful for each of the women who are with us now… and what started as a moment of “I’m not even sure I have it in me to pray” has become a mini-marathon of thanksgiving that started with something small.

Gratitude unlocks generosity

I don’t know about you, but one of the things I believe in most and, at the same time, struggle with as well, is finding ways to live generously. The Bible encourages me to do it. Recovery encourages giving back to the the program. I believe that generous living makes the world a better place, and that same world tells me to hold on tight to what I have and even too feel “cheated” when I don’t have what you have. Gratitude can break those chains of thought and remind me that I have a reason to be generous – because I have so much to be thankful for. From setting up chairs at the meeting in gratitude for that next sobriety milestone, to giving financially because God has so graciously provided for my needs with work, and a place to live – being grateful for what I have been given helps me hold on a little less tightly to those things, so that I can share in the blessings of giving some of it away. 

Attitudes of Gratitude

This holiday season, we will be asking for your support. The simple truth about non-profits is that we only exist and thrive due to the generosity of others. But we don’t want you to think it is only about the money. Not for a moment. And frankly, we need to remind ourselves of that same thing – we have a lot to be grateful for – today. Right now. We don’t want any of us to lose sight of the good things God has one and is doing because we can’t take our eyes off of the concerns and worries of the future.

So we will be mixing plenty of gratitude in to our holiday season as well, remembering the truth, multiplying our thankfulness, and giving back as we are able. 

If the idea of multiplying your gratitude and generosity has captured your attention, I’d encourage you to read about a generous matching gift that has been made to Coram Deo — a rare opportunity to have your gratitude and your generosity multiplied at the same time!

After a long year of pandemic related challenges with budgets, gathering, social distancing and more, we’d like to share some really good news with you! Recently, a generous donor has come forward to help us meet our budget for 2021. In a year when non-profits (and all of us, really) have had to work hard to make ends meet, this was such an answer to prayer.

But wait, there’s more.

This same donor has also agreed to match donations up to $50,000 for the next three years! This generous action has allowed us to start an endowment to help provide funding for Coram Deo for years to come. We have already earmarked $10,000 to start an endowment and have committed to 20% of all donations moving forward to go into the endowment.

Now, of course, comes the fun part. Every gift given (up to $50,000 total, per year) will be doubled by this matching gift. Your “small” monthly gift can be twice as big. Your one time gift on Giving Tuesday can be doubled. In short, the benefits of your generosity can be doubled. With your help Coram Deo can continue to provide safe places for women and their children to rebuild their lives. 

Let your Thanksgiving become Thanks Giving

If you would like to join us in the exciting opportunity for generosity, we would be grateful for your support.