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What Gardening Taught Me About Life and Leadership

by Jennie Guinn, Spiritual Life Chair

Recently, as I worked in my garden, I realized just how much leadership, faith, and business mirror the rhythms of nature. The soil, the planting, the watering, the waiting—all of it requires patience, trust, and intentional care. St. Paul captures it perfectly: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6). As Catholic women in business, we can work diligently and plant good seeds, but only God brings the increase. This takes the pressure off of us to control outcomes and invites us to partner with Him in both our professional and spiritual lives. Letting go of control is one of the hardest lessons I have learned and it is a lesson I continue to learn daily.

One powerful lesson came while pulling weeds. I noticed how quickly they sprout and how stubborn their roots can be. Weeds don’t need nurturing,they thrive in neglect and it seems like they grow overnight. But the fruit and flowers I truly wanted required my consistent attention. Aren’t life, relationships, business or anything truly important the same way? Distractions, self-doubt, and overcommitment spring up naturally and often take less effort than the work of true growth. If we don’t identify and remove these “weeds,” they choke out what matters most. As leaders in our family or business it means being willing to pause, notice what is crowding out your mission, and pull it up by the roots before it overtakes the good work.

Another insight came as I pruned back a tomato plant. At first it felt wrong to cut away healthy-looking branches, but pruning is necessary for the plant to focus its energy on producing better fruit. The same principle applies in life and leadership. Sometimes growth doesn’t mean adding more—it means letting go. That could mean restructuring your calendar, handing off tasks, or saying no to opportunities that look good but don’t align with your deeper calling. Pruning is painful, but without it, we spread ourselves too thin and our true fruit suffers.

Then there’s the waiting. After planting, you don’t see immediate results. You

water, you protect, you tend and then one day you notice the first sprout. Business

and ministry often feel the same. We do the work faithfully day after day, often

without immediate evidence of success. But unseen beneath the surface, God is

moving. This waiting period isn’t wasted; it’s where roots are growing strong enough

to sustain the harvest to come. The key is allowing yourself to have a period of silent

waiting and growing with faith in God to nurture something beautiful in your life.

Action Steps You Can Take:

Pull a weed: Identify one distraction or negative pattern that is draining your
energy and commit to removing it this week.
Prune for fruitfulness: What “good” thing might you need to release in order to focus on the “best” thing God is calling you to do?
Water consistently: Choose one daily practice—whether prayer before meetings, encouraging your team, or journaling—that nourishes your long-term mission.
Trust the waiting: Remember that unseen growth is still growth. Be faithful in the season of preparation, knowing the harvest will come.

Like gardening, life and leadership is a process of cultivating, nurturing, pruning, and trusting. It’s never instant, but it is always worth it. If these reflections speak to you, I share more about the parallels between gardening, business, and faith in a 3-part series on lessons I learned in my garden. Sometimes the greatest business strategies and life lessons begin when God quietly plants in the soil of our daily lives.

Jennie Guinn is a Catholic life coach, retreat leader, and founder of Catholic Moms in the Middle. With over 26 years of experience as an educator, administrator, and Director of Religious Education, she is passionate about walking with midlife women through life’s transitions—especially those that come from unexpected changes in relationships, identity, or purpose. She creates sacred spaces where women can encounter the love of the Father, be transformed by the Holy Spirit, so they can magnify Christ in their everyday lives.

Jennie is the host of the Catholic Moms in the Middle podcast and a featured voice on Nashville Catholic Radio and Radio Maria USA, where she shares encouragement and faith-filled wisdom with women navigating the twists and turns of midlife.

Let the Sacred Heart of Jesus Guide Your Life and Work

As a Catholic woman, whether you are working in an office, managing a household, running a business, or enjoying retirement, life can feel full and fast. You carry a lot of responsibilities, relationships, hopes, and heartaches. That’s why devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus can be such a gift. His heart, overflowing with love and mercy, offers you a safe and holy place to rest, refocus, and remember who you are and who you belong to. In every season of life, He invites you to draw close and let His love shape the way you live and lead.

The Sacred Heart isn’t just a beautiful image only seen in churches or pictures. It is a personal symbol of a love that endures pain, offers forgiveness, and keeps showing up. Whether you are currently managing projects, supporting coworkers, caring for grandchildren, or navigating a new chapter in life, you can carry His heart into every moment of your day. He teaches you how to lead with tenderness, speak with truth, see with compassion and serve with purpose. This doesn’t happen in your strength, but in His. When you stay close to His heart, you become a woman of peace, wisdom, and quiet strength for everyone you encounter during your day.

In a world that often feels far from God, you are still called to be a light. Living your faith out loud doesn’t always mean preaching. It means showing kindness when it’s not expected, forgiving when it’s hard, and choosing integrity over convenience. The Sacred Heart gives you the courage to love boldly and to speak truth gently. Whether it's through a smile, a word of encouragement, being patient or simply showing up with joy, you are in the world and have the opportunity to reflect the love of Christ in places that need Him most.

Here are three simple ways to let the Sacred Heart guide your day:

Begin with a prayer of surrender: Start your morning by saying, “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my thoughts, actions, and relationships in Your care today.”
Keep a Sacred Heart image nearby: Whether on your desk, your kitchen counter, or nightstand—let it be a reminder that Jesus walks with you in every task.
Take a sacred pause: Once a day, stop for just a few minutes to breathe, reflect, and ask, “Jesus, how can I love like You right now?”

No matter your season of life, your role or your daily routine, the Heart of Jesus is always open to you, ready to renew your strength when life is tough and to remind you that you are deeply loved and never alone.

Jennie Guinn is a Catholic life coach, podcaster, and radio show host who walks with women facing life’s unexpected turns. She helps them encounter the Father’s love, be transformed by the Holy Spirit, and find healing from pain and disappointment so they can magnify Christ with their lives. Through faith-filled coaching and heartfelt conversations, Jennie empowers women to rediscover hope and to live life with purpose and joy.

You Were Born to Sparkle (Yes, Even Now)

The other day, as I was wandering through Walmart, a little sparkly hat caught my eye. It was red, white, and blue which means it was clearly made for summer fun, but what grabbed my heart were the words stitched across the front: “You were born to sparkle.” Without thinking twice, I tossed it into my cart for my three-year-old granddaughter who loves all things sparkly.

When I gave it to her, she lit up. She put it on, twirled like a princess, and sparkled with every ounce of her being. Watching her, I teared up. It wasn't just because she is adorable (though she absolutely is) but because something about that phrase hit me hard: She truly believes she was born to sparkle.

When did we stop believing that about ourselves?

As Catholic women in business, we’re used to being strong. We hustle. We manage the meetings, the projects, the clients while still trying to be present for our families, our parishes, and our friends. But somewhere along the way, many of us stopped sparkling. The joy, the confidence, the creativity God gave us got buried under expectations, exhaustion, comparison, and life’s unexpected turns. Transitions happen and suddenly we're not sure where we fit or what we’re supposed to be doing anymore.

But here’s what I want you to hear loud and clear: You were born to sparkle. And not in the influencer, Instagram-perfect way—but in a holy, radiant, deeply powerful way that reflects the light of Christ. In a divine way!

Jesus didn’t say, “You used to be the light,” or “You’ll shine once you figure everything out.” He said in Matthew 5, “You are the light of the world.” Present tense. Right now. Even if you're in the middle of a career pivot, feeling stuck in your business, grieving a loss, or battling burnout—your light still matters. The trust is that light shines brightest in the darkness.

I know many of us are walking through hard seasons or difficult times. I am too. But I've been thinking about the women, especially the saints, who truly sparkled in their most difficult moments. Saint Monica didn’t sparkle because life was easy. She sparkled because she persevered in prayer for her family, even when nothing seemed to change. Saint Rita? Her sparkle was born through deep suffering and heartbreak, and yet she became a woman of powerful intercession and peace. And then there’s Saint Hildegard, who didn’t even step into her full calling until she was in her forties. She went on to preach, write, compose music, and become a spiritual powerhouse.

So, if you’re sitting at your desk wondering, “Is it too late?” or “Does what I do even matter anymore?” Let me lovingly remind you that it’s not too late. You were born to sparkle, and some of your most radiant days, months and years are still ahead of you.

Sparkling as a Catholic woman in business isn’t about titles or achievements. It’s about living with purpose however that looks in your current season. Maybe it’s launching a new project or ministry. Maybe it’s slowing down to mentor someone else. Maybe it’s resting and letting God restore you. Either way, your sparkle is found not in doing more, but in letting Christ shine through your real, messy, authentic self.

So here are a few simple ways to reclaim that divine sparkle:

Stay rooted in the Word. Scripture buffs out the lies we believe and brings back our shine.
Be authentically you. Take off the mask. The world—and your clients—need your realness.
Choose joy, even when it’s hard. Not fake joy, but the deep confidence that God is still at work.
Say yes to the next thing God is calling you to, even if it’s scary. He will equip you.

Friend, it’s not over. You’re not behind. And the sparkle God placed in you? It’s still there. So go out this week and let it shine—on Zoom calls, in coffee meetings, at your kid’s baseball game, or over dinner with friends. You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be present. Because when you show up as the woman God created you to be—faithful, joyful, and a little bit messy—you reflect Christ in the most beautiful way. To learn more about how to sparkle listen to this week’s show on Catholic Moms in the Middle as Jennie shares more about sparkling in ALL seasons of life. Click here to listen.

✨ You were born to sparkle. Don’t forget it. ✨

Behind the Smoke:

What Every Catholic Woman Should Know about the Conclave

As Catholic women navigating midlife, faith isn’t just a quiet part of our lives. For most of us, it's the compass that guides us through family, work, community and leadership. With the Church currently in a papal interregnum, now is the perfect time to better understand what’s happening behind the scenes in Rome. The conclave isn’t just a historic ritual but a deeply spiritual process rooted in prayer, discernment, and silence as the College of Cardinals prepares to elect the next pope.

I recently had the privilege of sitting down with Father Justin Raines, pastor of St. Matthew in Franklin, TN, for my podcast and radio show Catholic Moms in the Middle. Father Raines was in Rome during the last conclave and offered firsthand insight into the mystery and meaning behind it all—from the sacred symbolism of the white smoke to the solemn oaths cardinals make beneath Michelangelo’s Last Judgment. He

described it not as a political moment, but as a spiritual retreat where silence and the Holy Spirit guide every decision.

For Catholic women who lead—in their homes, in their communities, or in their businesses, this is a powerful reminder that the most important leadership choices are rooted in listening to God. As the world awaits the next Holy Father, our role is clear, we are to pray, stay informed, and trust in the Holy Spirit to guide our steps. Here is the truth, the Church isn’t just run from Rome, but it’s carried every day by women like you and I, as members of the Nashville Catholic Business Women's League, who are the face of Christ for everyone we encounter.
Link for podcast!