“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…” -Ecclesiastes 3:1

For gardeners in Louisiana, August is a time of patience and persistence. The sun scorches delicate young plants, it’s too hot and often too dry for all but the hardiest of native plants, and the promise of cool weather is still months away. So we wait and have faith that life and growth are being sustained beneath the surface.

For survivors, sometimes healing can feel suspiciously like being trapped in that southern garden in August. The tender places in their hearts and minds aren’t ready to have harsh sunlight cast on them, they’re scraping together the resources they need to get through each day, and better days seem out of sight.

But life can’t and shouldn’t always be full of abundant, leafy branches and flowers (or advancing careers, well-adhered-to schedules, or dozens of flourishing relationships). If a survivor in your life is struggling through their own personal August, listen to them without minimizing their concerns. Pray for them. And encourage them to take a lesson from the most persistent plants: when we reach our roots down into the earth to find the things that sustains them, we can grow even through the hard seasons.