The Garden Experience Retreat

All this talk about women and aging…

Baby, at this mature age, with all this wisdom, I am so UNBOTHERED by the chatter. 😌

I feel good about myself.
I am deeply comfortable in my own skin.😉

And perhaps one of the greatest gifts of maturity is realizing that I no longer need the approval of others to feel beautiful, desirable, relevant, or worthy.

I’m not trying to look younger.
I’m enjoying the woman I have become.

There is a freedom 🙌🏽 that comes when you stop looking outside of yourself for permission to feel good about yourself.

And BABY… freedom feels so good.✨

💁🏽‍♀️

✨Sacred Soil Reflection…

When I recently heard about this story, I won’t mention any names, but it stirred something in me.

Two best friends were traveling together. One had the means to fly first class while the other chose coach because she understood the difference in their financial circumstances.

And I kept thinking about what I would want.
Not because anyone is entitled to what another person has. But because I’ve always had the heart of a giver, and sharing with the people I love brings me JOY.

For me, abundance isn’t simply having access to more. It’s having enough to widen the table, make room and share the experience.

Luke 12:48 reminds us, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.”

If GOD blesses me with extraordinary abundance, I pray that my hands remain OPEN.🙏🏽

Because I don’t just want the best seat in the house.
I want to look beside me and see my person there too.
Sometimes LOVE simply says…

“I know you didn’t ask.
I know you can take care of yourself.
But this time, I got you.
Come sit beside me.” ✨

Perhaps THAT is the real luxury. 🌱🫶🏽
Monica McIlwain Van Eyken Monica Van Eyken

✨🌱Sacred Soil Reflection…

As I deepen my relationship with GOD, I AM more aware than ever of the importance of beginning my day with the Most High GOD, Yahweh.✨🙏🏽

Before I allow the noise of the world to enter my spirit, I begin my morning in stillness, meditation and fellowship with GOD. Before the scrolling. Before the responsibilities. Before the worries. I seek Him first.
It is in those quiet moments that I am reminded of who I AM.

I am the salt of the earth.
I am the light of the world.
I am a daughter of the KING. 👑

And because of who my Father is, I refuse to allow my circumstances to have the final word over my life.
Despite what is happening in the world.
Despite what may be happening around me.
Despite the noise, uncertainty and suffering we witness every day.

I AM a Believer.
I AM a follower of Jesus Christ.

And every morning, my fellowship with GOD brings me back to the truth:

“Seek first the Kingdom of GOD and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33.

So before I seek answers, I seek GOD.
Before I seek direction, I seek GOD.
Before I tend to anything else, I tend to the Sacred Soil of my own spirit.✨🙏🏽

How YOU begin your morning matters. ✨🙏🏽

✨SACRED SOIL REFLECTION…

I STOPPED believing beauty belonged to youth a long time ago.😉

There’s been so much conversation lately about women aging, and I’ve been sitting with how differently we hold aging for women than we do for men.

Why are women expected to remain frozen in the beauty of their youth while simultaneously being blessed with the privilege of growing older?

I don’t want to reclaim the woman I was in my youth. I honor her. She got me here.🙏🏽✨

In this season, I’m gathering my lived experiences and allowing them to ripen into wisdom. I’m embracing the woman I’ve become while remaining curious about the woman I’m still becoming.✨

Beauty evolves.
Sensuality evolves.
Purpose evolves.
WE evolve.

Perhaps aging was never meant to make women invisible.
Perhaps it is an invitation to finally SEE ourselves beyond the gaze of others.

New Month. New Revelation. New Outlook. 🍂

I’m still becoming. 🌱✨ Hello October…

🌻Sacred Soil Reflection…

I’m in a season of reflection.✨

Not because I’m living in the past or rehearsing regrets.

Reflection calls in my wisdom. It allows me to look back and gather what life has taught me.

And one thing I know for sure:
Staying in a dead situation only prolongs your suffering.

If you’re remaining somewhere, or with someone, waiting for them to change, remember this:

The only person you have the power to change is YOU!

Sometimes the change we’re waiting for isn’t theirs to make.
It’s ours.

🌱 Seeds for the Soul

🌻Sacred Soil Reflection…

In this season of my life, REST is my spiritual practice.✨🙏🏽

I’m learning the sacred art of self-soothing through rest.

Stillness.
Quiet.
Solitude.
Reflection.
Being STILL.

We live in a culture of constant noise. Constant activity. Constant stimulation. Constant access to one another.

And sometimes we don’t realize how much that noise has dysregulated our nervous systems until we finally become still.

REST is teaching me that I don’t have to respond to everything.
Fix everything.
Carry everything.
Or figure everything out today.

When I become still, the internal chatter quiets. My spirit settles. Clarity returns. And I can hear God more clearly.

Perhaps you don’t need another distraction.🫶🏽

Perhaps you don’t need to push harder.

Perhaps your soul is asking you to REST.✨

🌱 Seed for the Soul:
Rest is not the absence of progress. Sometimes REST is where the deepest work begins.

✨🙏🏽SACRED SOIL REFLECTION…

I’ve been sitting with John 3:16 differently these days.

“For God so loved the world…”

But what happens when your circumstances don’t feel like love?

When doors close.
Loss finds you.
Prayers seem unanswered.
And life looks nothing like you imagined.

Maybe you’ve quietly wondered, God, where are You in all of this?

I see you. Because I’ve wondered too.

And here’s what I’m learning:

Your circumstances are not the measure of God’s love for you.

We can hold both truths:

This hurts, and God still loves me.
I don’t understand, and God is still here.

Don’t let the noise of this season convince you that Yahweh has left you.

God loved.
God gave.
God remains.

Your circumstances may have changed.
His love has not. 🌱

A cup of comfort. 🍂☕️🤎

There’s something about Autumn that makes me reach for a warm cup of tea. As the air gets cooler and the seasons begin to shift, tea has always been a source of comfort for me.

Today, that comfort is a warm cup of SOGO Pure. 🍂✨

SoGoPure Sonia Terboss Tori Brown Whitley M. 🌻 Nahema Torres Kim Holloway

🌻Sacred Soil Reflection | IN THE FLOW✨

As Autumn 🍂 approaches, lately I can FEEL the seasons of my life shifting.

Just like nature, the seasons of our lives don’t ask for our permission to change. Sometimes change arrives whether we’re ready or not.

Doors are closing. Familiar things are falling away. And there are moments when I want to reach back and hold on to what I’ve known.🥹

But something happens when I become STILL.🙏🏽

In the quiet, beneath the uncertainty, I sense the gentle movement of the Holy Spirit inviting me to RELEASE. SURRENDER. TRUST.

I’m discovering that being IN THE FLOW doesn’t mean I’m comfortable. It doesn’t mean I’m fearless or that I know what’s coming next.

It means I’m learning to move WITH GOD, even when everything around me is changing.✨🙏🏽

And perhaps that’s what surrender feels like.
Not having all the answers.
Not knowing exactly where the path leads.
But trusting the One who is walking beside me.🙏🏽

I AM IN THE FLOW. ✨🙏🏽

What is shifting in your life? And what might happen if you stopped resisting long enough to become still and listen?

🌻Sacred Soil Reflection

Silence Is My Weapon.✨

Lately, I’ve been discovering that silence is my weapon. It’s where I feel GOD the most.

GOD shows up in the early morning hours of my silence, in my quiet time. Ironically, it’s when I am still and quiet that I hear Him the loudest.

I’m in a season where the noise around me would lead me to believe that GOD isn’t hearing me. Yet, as I surrender and deepen my trust, my inner listening becomes clearer.

I’m learning to move with confidence and clarity, trusting that GOD is right in the midst of my experience, even when I cannot see what’s unfolding.
You see, silence isn’t the absence of GOD. Sometimes, it’s where His presence becomes most evident.

My invitation to you is simple: BE STILL.✨

Sit in the quiet. Release the noise. Surrender the need to figure everything out.
Allow GOD to speak. 🗣️

Sometimes, the clarity we seek isn’t found in doing more, but in becoming still enough to listen. 🌱✨