🕯️ Devotional Story: “The Garden Gate”

Here is a cozy, heartwarming devotional story inspired by the gentle, reflective style of Sarah O’Hara’s Your Year (Your Version), centered on the theme of boundaries:

🕯️ Devotional Story: “The Garden Gate”

It was early spring when Clara decided to tend to the garden behind her cottage. The frost had finally lifted, and the earth was soft enough to welcome new life. She’d always loved the quiet rhythm of planting — the way it asked for patience, care, and a bit of faith.

But this year, something felt different.

As she knelt in the soil, she noticed how wild the edges had become. Vines tangled with weeds, and the neighbor’s ivy had crept in, curling around her rose bushes. The garden she once cherished had blurred into everything around it.

She sighed, brushing dirt from her hands. “I never meant for it to get this way,” she whispered.

Later that evening, Clara sat with a cup of chamomile tea and her journal. The garden weighed on her heart more than she expected. It wasn’t just about plants — it was about her life.

She wrote:

“I’ve let too much in. I’ve said yes when I meant no. I’ve stayed quiet when I needed to speak. My soul feels overgrown.”

The next morning, Clara went to the hardware store and bought a small wooden gate. It wasn’t fancy, but it was sturdy. She spent the afternoon installing it, marking the entrance to her garden with intention.

As she hammered the final nail, she felt something shift inside her — a quiet strength rising.

That week, Clara began practicing boundaries. She said no to a commitment that drained her. She paused before replying to texts. She gave herself permission to rest without guilt. Each act felt like placing a stone around her garden, defining what was hers to tend.

And slowly, her life began to bloom again.

🌿 Reflection

Boundaries aren’t walls — they’re gates. They let in what nourishes and keep out what depletes. Like Clara’s garden, your soul needs space to grow, and that means learning to say, “This is mine. I will care for it.”

Ask yourself today:

  • Where have I let things overgrow?
  • What do I need to say no to?
  • What would it look like to build a gate with love?

You are allowed to protect your peace. You are allowed to choose what enters your garden.

And you are allowed to bloom.

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