Pumpkin in the Side Yard

We didn’t plan to grow a pumpkin this year. In fact, we did the opposite.

Last fall, we rolled our tired, sagging pumpkins down the hill behind the house, like we do every year — not with any gardening ambition, just with the thought that they’d be better off rotting out back than decaying on the front porch.

And rot they did.

But a few weeks ago, we came home from church camp and noticed a leafy vine crawling up from a low, quiet spot near a tree stump in the side yard. My husband went to check it out and tucked beneath the shaded leaves was a small green pumpkin, swelling at the end of the vine. We hadn’t watered it, planted it, or cared for it in any way. We’d done absolutely nothing. And yet here it was — something beautiful, growing.

Not the First Time

It wasn’t even the first time. Years ago, a pumpkin sprouted in gravel of all places. Our son, who was five at the time, was thrilled. We hadn’t tried to grow that one either. We’ve got a decent track record at being accidental pumpkin farmers. Or maybe, more accurately, we’ve been witnesses to grace in the most unlikely places.

After a few laughs this year about our pumpkin trash still hanging on, it hit me:

Isn’t that just like God?
Working in the most unlikely places.
In what feels like waste.
In what we throw away or overlook or never meant to do anything with at all.
God makes a way.

Created to Create
We are created by a wildly creative God — something I just can’t get over. I mean, just look around: intelligent design, everywhere. And what’s even better is the God who spoke the universe into being, who formed beauty out of dust, continues to create even now — in us and through us. That means creativity isn’t a hobby or a bonus skill for “artsy” people. It’s part of our very design. It’s who we are.

And yet, we’re so quick to count ourselves out.

“I’m not a creative person.”
“I don’t have any talent.”
“I’ve never been good at that.”
“I’m too old.”
“It’s too late.”

But this little pumpkin, growing out of nowhere, says otherwise.

God is Still Creating
Creativity often sprouts in places we don’t expect. It shows up not just in painting or music, but in how we adapt, how we love, how we problem-solve and reimagine and keep moving forward — even when the path isn’t clear. It shows up in how we care for others, how we face change, how we build something new in seasons that feel like endings.

God didn’t stop creating after Genesis 1. He’s still in the business of making things grow. And He’s still inviting us to co-create with Him — in big ways and small. Even after God created the animals, He brought them to Adam to name. “Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.” Genesis 2:19 ESV. From the beginning God has invited us not just to witness His work, but to be a part of it.

We can look at the unexpected growth in our lives and say, “I didn’t ask for this.”
“I’m not a gardener.”
“I don’t know what to do with this.”

Or we can lean in, tend to what’s growing, and watch what God might do.

We get to choose. We can cut it down. Or we can let it grow.

So here’s to pumpkins in the side yard — and to the beautiful, surprising ways creativity takes root, even when we least expect it.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.— Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

 

Click to learn more about the:
Tenth Annual Abundant Aging Symposium
Ignite Creative Potential: The Aging Superpower
Exploring New Options, Self-Expression and Experiencing Joy
Friday, October 31, 2025 9:45 am to 3:15pm
In Person and Online | The Ohioan (formerly Nationwide Hotel), Columbus, Ohio