Awakening the Garden Within | What to do when God is doing Something New in You.

What if the part of you that feels quiet, overlooked, or “not ready yet” is actually where God is moving most?

This isn’t another pep talk. It’s an invitation to notice the holy stirring under the surface — the prayers you whispered and forgot, the desires you buried because timing disappointed you, the dreams you tucked behind duty. In this episode, we sit at the edge of your inner garden and listen for the first crack of soil. Not a harvest yet. Not the Instagram moment. Just the sacred sound of becoming.

You’ll feel seen if you’ve ever asked:

• “Why does it look like nothing’s happening?”
• “How do I prepare when I can’t see proof?”
• “What if I missed my moment?”

Together, we’ll name what’s waking up in you. We’ll speak life over it. We’ll choose small, faithful steps that honor God’s timing more than our timelines. And we’ll breathe — slow and honest — until hope rises again.

You’ll walk away with:

• A holy lens to perceive God’s newness in hidden places
• A spoken affirmation to rewire fear into expectation
• A simple, sacred journal practice to partner with what God is planting
• A guided meditation + prayer to steady your heart for the days ahead

Whisper this with me: I am awakening to God’s new thing within me. I will not rush it. I will not bury it. I will believe again.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Welcome back to She Thrives. This is season four, and I'm your host, Dominique Chantel, and I'm so excited to be with you. So, today, you guys, listen, we have episode two, and we're east in season four. And some of you guys have said, Hey Dominique, I'm not in my winter season, I'm not resting, I'm not settling down, I'm not reflecting. I'm in my spring season. So tell me what to do. And so I've heard you, and we are talking about today awakening the garden within. And we're coming out of Isaiah 43:19. See, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it? And if you are like me, I am also in the spring season. I'm planting seeds and we're gonna walk through this thing together. Okay. So today's theme is recognizing the new thing that God is doing in your heart. And I want you to know that God is doing something new. Okay, so let's go ahead and get started in prayer. So, Father, thank you for this moment and every woman listening today. Thank you that you are awakening something new within us, even in places that have felt dormant or dry, as we open our hearts to your word, help us perceive the new thing that you are doing. Let fresh faith spring up where there has been fear, let new vision rise where there has been discouragement in Jesus' name, y'all. So again, welcome to She Thrives, the podcast that helps women flourish in every season of life, no matter where you are. Today's episode launches our season of emergence, which is spring, a time of awakening, planting, and you guessed it, preparation, sis. It's needed. So today we're gonna be talking about awaken the garden on the inside of you because sometimes God begins his greatest work beneath the surface. We have to understand that as flowers, we're his beautiful flower, and as we are blooming, we have to get roots that are established, they have to be anchored in him. So sorry, that's shaking, but um, that's me. But um, so I want to tell you a story um where last season I was working, I was still teaching at the time, and I was in a really, really toxic work environment. And the Lord was just speaking to me in that season, and he said, This is just temporary. And I kept hearing, I'm like, Lord, what do you mean this is temporary? Because I thought, honest to God, truth, I was like, Lord, this job is so toxic, it's killing me. I can't make it every day. It's something different. The communication is off, um, it's bad. Why am I here? Why would you have me here in this season? And the word that I got was to serve well in the season that you are in, and that stuck with me because in me going to work every day, I just remember what God told me to serve well in this season. And little did I know that it would set me up to the position or the volunteer opportunity that I am in today. And um, what it just reminded me of. So let me go back to that season when I was working at the school in the toxic environment. He said, There are some things that I'm going to call you to that you have to be willing to endure. How many of you are willing to endure the current season that you were in? And what God reminded me too is that this season that you are in, it's a prerequisite, prerequisite to the next season. Again, catch that. This current season that you are in is a prerequisite to the next season. So if you can't handle this season well, then there's some things again that God is going to pull on you to have you conquer in this season and to endure in this season in order to prepare you for your next season. So endorse this. I know sometimes it may be hard, and so that's my story, and that's how I arrived at this volunteer position, a leadership role in my church, and I enjoy serving, I love um working with the people that I work with. I enjoy serving the people, our global members. And so, again, because I went through my last season and endured, I was able to be elevated to this role, and he prepared me for this role as well. So I'm so thankful I went through that season, my last season. So let's go ahead and get into the inspiration, right? So God is awakening something in you, even if you can't see it. So a lot of times we get focused on what we can see, but God is saying endure so that or go through, right? Because I'm doing something in you, and in this season, he is doing a new thing in you. So think of spring. Before you ever see green breaking through the soil, something is already happening underground. Again, at this very moment, we're in fall, right? And so in fall, the leaves start to fall to the ground, but there is something happening on the inside of that tree, in the inside of that, the fruit, whatever you liken it to, there's something happening on the inside right now in order for the spring season to take place. So I want you to keep that in mind. So the same is true in your spirit, just because you can't see it doesn't mean God isn't moving. Remember, we walk by faith and not by sight. So even though we can't see it, even though we can't perceive it, we have to trust the one who sends it and who allows it. Isaiah 43 and 19 reminds us that God is doing a new thing, but our role is to perceive it. So I want to again, I have so many stories that I can tell, but oh where's my y'all? This is so I'm sorry. So this is what happens when you you lose your notes, okay? So um I want to talk to you about the story where again, it has been a recurring theme in my life. So the story of my divorce. Um many of you know, or if you don't know, I went through a divorce back in 2021, and I honestly thought that I wouldn't make it through it because of what it had done to me. Emotionally, uh mentally, physically, I was drained, and quite frankly, I didn't know how I would make it. I didn't know if again, if I would even be able to provide for my children. I didn't know just anything, I was unclear, and the the word that the Holy Spirit whispered to me is love your way through. And I said, Love, how am I supposed to love my way through a divorce? Like this is the worst thing that's happening to me, and I wouldn't wish it on anybody. And as I'm sitting there crying my eyes out, and the the Lord is just speaking to me like you have to endure and you have to love your way through this, because the only way that you'll be able to get through this without it wrecking your soul is love. Even though you are hurt, even though you are scared, you're afraid, you're fearful, love is gonna conquer all of that, and so that's my personal testimony is that I had to love my way through that, and even today, what God has called me to do um for people is to inspire, encourage people. I have to steward their hearts in a way that I am gentle with them, but also I'm still showing them the love of God, and regardless of how they see me, I have to choose to love. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not always easy, okay? Sometimes I've been like, Lord, they did this to me, and you want me to love them, you want me to pray for them? Wait a minute now, okay? Um, it's a lot, but when I choose love, I do feel his hope, I feel God's joy, and I do feel that he's taking care of me because of the obedience, and he fights my battles for me. That's all I can say. So that's my personal testimony in terms of just God doing a new thing in me. Again, I had to learn to love my way through the hardship, and that helps me. So before we move on, I want to take this. Um, I want you to take this in deeply. So even when nothing looks different, something is stirring beneath the surface. Even when nothing looks different, something is stirring beneath the surface, and so as you see a beautiful flower, as it is rising up right during the spring season, there is all types of things going on beneath the surface in terms of the roots. The flower is getting its roots, it's getting anchored, it's getting some things are getting pruned. Um, and there have even been some attacks, right, to keep the flower from blooming. But thanks be to God that it still blooms. Do you know that flowers? And I have to insert this because this is very interesting to me. So they have a photo reception. Um, and that just means that um you're y'all forgive me, um, because I want to make sure I'm saying this right. Um excuse me. Um, yes, so photoreceptors, um, which means that plants can sense light, and even plants in their seasons of growing, they know when to lean toward the sun, they know when to rest, and they know when to be still. And isn't that so powerful, just like what God does within us? He gives us hope, and so we should know when to lean into him, when to rest, and when to be still. So that's so amazing when I learned that that plants sense light, so they know what to do and when to do it. Um, so if you've ever felt or if you've ever had a sense that light or hope was on the way, you're you're probably right. If you have a feeling that you know what, I think something good is about to happen. My season is about to change. You know, the hope that lies within me, it reassures me, and I'm so thankful for that. So I want you to go ahead and repeat after me because we're going to get into our affirmations, and I want you to say, I am awakening to God's new thing within me. I am open to what he is planting in my heart. I am ready to perceive his movement, even in hidden places, and I want you to encourage um someone else as well. Share these with someone else, and it's good for you that you will write these down so that you can come back to them when you get the time and the space to really reflect on these things and speak these over yourself. But I just don't want to give you affirmations, I want to give you an application to. So I want you to really think about this and reflect on this. I want to make this personal and practical for you. I want you to ask yourself, where in your life do I sense God stirring something new? Is it a dream that's resurfacing? A relationship that's being restored, a new desire to serve or create. Again, where in my life do I sense God stirring something new? And then I want you to act on this. I want you to journal it. Where do you sense God calling you to for new beginnings? I shared with you earlier, I'm starting a new movement. She thrives, a community of women who are committed to thriving through every season of life. So I'll be teaching them how to thrive through every season of life. And so, if that's you, I want you to go ahead and actually um, I got my QR code. I want you to scan that QR code, okay? So that you can get access to the latest tips, um, everything, all the things, okay. If that's you, Queen, or if you know of a woman that wants to thrive through life, through every season of life, okay, tell her about it. All right. Um, is there a dream that's resurfacing, a relationship that's being restored, a new desire to serve or create? Um, the reason why we have to really be seeking God in our lives and through every season is because God may wake up a dead thing. He may wake up a relationship that you thought um would never ever come back to life. He may wake up um family ships again, a relationship in your family where you thought, you know what, I thought that we would never reconcile. He may wake that relationship up so you never know. Be open to it, is what I'm saying. And then once you sense where God is calling you to for these new beginnings, I want you to write down one step of obedience that you can take, even if it feels small. So, for instance, if you say, Hey, I know God is calling me to reconcile with this family member, so I'm just gonna send them a text to say, Hey, I'm praying for you. Or you were on my heart. I'm thinking about you. Okay. Um, and so that's very important. That's just an example. So I want you to lean into what God is calling you to in this season. I want you to pray over the area daily, okay? Water it with the word, trust God with his timing. This is so important. I think a lot of times we put time frames on things, and then that creates depression, it creates us being upset and angry with God and saying, God, I said that I was gonna be married by the end of this year. But God's like, did I tell you that? Or did you think that? Did you consult me on that? Or Lord, I got a prophetic word that um that I was gonna get this job, and God's like, okay, did did I did I say that to you? And so we have to be seeking God always and the Holy Spirit and what he is truly saying to us in the season that we were in, so we can get clear on what he wants us to do and how he wants us to navigate in that season, and then this is a question for your reflection, family. What area of your life feels hidden or slow, but might actually be a seed waiting to spring forth? Think about that. What area of your life feels like it's moving slow or that it's hidden, but might actually be a seed waiting to spring forth? The scripture that I want to leave you with that you should meditate on is be still and and know that I am God. Psalms 46 and 10. And behold, I am doing a new thing in you, and that is Isaiah 43 and 19. Reflect on those scriptures and make sure you meditate on them day and night. I want you at this moment for our meditation, we're gonna do a little breathing exercise. And it's called breath scriptures. I want you to inhale, and then I want you to say an affirmation, and then I want you to exhale, and then we're gonna exhale and say an affirmation. Okay, so we're gonna inhale. God is doing a new thing, and we're gonna exhale. I trust his timing. Inhale, God is doing a new thing, exhale, I trust his timing. Inhale, God is doing a new thing. Exhale, I trust his timing. Inhale, God is doing a new thing. Exhale, I trust his timing. Listen, that just calmed my soul and gave me what I needed to progress through the rest of the day. I want you to visualize fresh life springing from your soul and new ground breaking through if we can pray together. So, Lord, I thank you for the seeds, your awakening in our hearts. Even when we don't see the fruit yet, we trust that you are working beneath the surface. Give us eyes to perceive your movement and hearts willing to respond. Bless every listener with peace, patience, and expectancy for what you are growing in her life. In Jesus' name. Amen. If this episode blessed you or you received a nugget or a download from it, I want you to do this. Share this with as many people as possible. And I want you to also join the movement. You can scan the QR code right here. And then I want you to go to my website, it's at the bottom, www.dominiqueshinsel.com. And I want you to download my app. So the app is for women who are committed to thriving through every season and who want to know how to thrive through every season on purpose, for purpose, because God has called you to something, sis, and it's something He wants to get out of you, and He wants to teach you how to thrive no matter where you are. I want you to journal your new beginnings, and again, make sure you share this on as many platforms. Okay. May you always be believing so that you may always be receiving. And remember, even when it feels quiet, God is still working. You are awakening and you will thrive. All right, until next time, sis. Love you. Bye.