Questions: Hobbies & Leisure

It's that time of year when men measure their marrows in hope of impressing the judges at the local vegetable show. From giant pot leeks to massive pumpkins, in the world of giant veg, size matters.

Those who take it seriously invest a lot into the hobby, poly tunnels, soil heating cables, irrigation system, and there's supposed tricks like burying a dead cat under the plant.

But have you ever grown a giant vegetable, either to win a prize or just for fun? I grew a 200lb pumpkin as a child, tiny by competitive standards but it made a brilliant Halloween lantern.

FEAR FROM CHILDHOOD TO ADULTHOOD
Fear Not: My Journey From Pain to Purpose
Some wounds are invisible. Some battles are fought in silence. And some stories begin long before we ever understand what it means to survive. What happens when the people who were supposed to protect you become the very people you fear? What happens when a little girl grows up carrying pain that no child should ever have to carry? And what happens when that little girl becomes a woman who is still trying to understand who she is, why she suffered, and where God was through it all? This is my story. My life. My testimony. A story of childhood pain, domestic violence, abuse, neglect, heartbreak, loss, and battles that continued long after I became an adult. A story about a little girl who never truly understood what love was supposed to feel like, who learned to survive before she ever had the chance to simply be a child. Growing up, I experienced things that changed me in ways I am still learning to understand. I carried wounds that followed me into adulthood, affecting how I saw myself, how I trusted others, and how I understood love. I became a mother figure to my brothers while still being a child myself, trying to care for them while desperately needing someone to care for me. And then came the heartbreak of losing my baby. There are some losses that words cannot fully explain. Some pain stays tucked away in places that nobody sees. Some days, I still find myself asking why. Why did I have to experience so much? Why did I have to lose someone so precious to me? Why did my life have to look so different from the life I dreamed of having? And through it all, I kept asking God questions. Where were You, God?