The Seed Packet by Seed’s Gate Print Shop
The Seed’s Gate Print Shop Newsletter
Issue 03 - The Path
The One We All Walk and One Unfinished
Preface
This newsletter is diverging from my original plans and schedule. I am a planner by nature, so I naturally have a loose schedule of newsletter topics. This month was supposed to be about The Great Conversation and feature bookmarks. So much to write about! Yet I could not find the drive to write it. Instead of forcing something mediocre out of something that can and will be wonderful at the right time, I had a moment that felt like a prompting from the Lord that has led me to pivot.
The planned form for these newsletters is to cover a print already complete. In-progress pieces are for sneak peeks. Abandoned pieces are just that - abandoned - left behind for some reason or another. I cannot physically make every single idea or sketch I have. Truly, an artist’s problem is not running out of ideas but rather having too many.
The piece in this month’s newsletter is one of these abandoned projects. At some point I got stuck in the illustration stage and became displeased with… something. I'm honestly still not sure what it is and I expect that I will take another stab at it after this newsletter goes out. Regardless of the art itself, I feel led to share this particular piece because of its meaning and even though I am not satisfied with how it is artistically, the theology behind it is strong enough that what it looks like now is still serving as an anchor in my struggle.
The Path
Before I give you a picture, imagine this first:
In front of you is a soft flowing river stream, cool and shallow. In the middle of the stream are mossy stepping stones reaching out before you, inviting you to walk with the water. The sunlight shines softly and the weather is cool - like the sun has just risen over a yet unnoticed horizon. Your surroundings breathe contentment and peace. Comfort is the very air you take in and you are not alone here, though there is no one else to see. You know each stone is firmly in place and you can move in pace with the water, drinking in the serenity in a way that nourishes your soul.
Sit with whatever it is you see for a minute. Can you feel the peace wash over you? I pray you can and that you know that it does not come from my words nor mine or your imagination, but from the Creator who made such places and also made our hearts and minds.
I know the image in the mind’s eye of each person who reads that will be different. Regardless, this is the essence of what I eventually wish to impart through this piece when it is complete. Below is the draft I have had in my old saved files for just over a year, the timestamp placing the original concept during the summer of 2025, mere months after so suddenly losing mom. At a time when the grief was still so fresh, each step on the path was a gargantuan effort and reaching for the cool flowing water was how I made it through each day.
Here is The Path as it is currently.
The Path - Digital Sketch
My drafts include a few listed scriptures:
Ruth 1:16
“…For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Psalm 37:23
“The steps of man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way.”
Proverbs 16:9
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
”Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Ruth is one of my favorite books of the Bible. I marvel at the way the Lord truly goes before her and we as readers can see it! But Ruth? She walked with faith. Before she and Naomi had even arrived in Bethlehem, the Lord had set each stone true and Ruth never faltered in her faith of His provision. Her faith bore such fruits and generational blessings that the Messiah was born from her family line!
What I take in when I read these is that our Father always walks with us, behind us, and before us. We are told in scripture that God makes our path and leads us on it. So long as we keep our eyes and hearts focused on Him, He will lay each stepping stone and He will support each step. We can walk, stride by stride, with the Spirit and never weary.
I envision Peter on the water with Jesus. As long as his eyes were on the Messiah, keeping faith, he did not sink.
I think of David writing Psalm 23 - a passage often used in times of grief and strife. King David is not just speaking toward keeping his eyes on God, in immense faith, but doing so in the shade of the valley when fear threatens to take hold in your heart. But David has no fear for his heart and comfort is in God and none can come against such a fortress.
When we remove our eyes and hearts from the Lord, turning to our own strength and wisdom? We attempt to do things outside of the will and power of God and we stray from the stones He sets firm before us and fall into darkness.
Relevance (and not a little vulnerability)
You may be asking why in the world I feel led to share this illustration instead of something else. I have a list of topics I could’ve chosen from after all.. from bookmarks and the potential depth there to other complete pieces with rich meaning.
Recently, I have struggled to keep my heart and eyes in their proper orientation, stumbling off the path and forgetting true north as the path itself disappears from view. Instead of a stone lined stream that could belong near Rivendell, I am in Mirkwood Forest chasing the distant fire of the wood-elves.
I feel as though I have been lost in the weeds, going through the motions. A lot of survival mode without reaching to Him for strength. Over the last few months we have all four been sick, some of us multiple times. The list of things to do before this baby gets here seems to be getting longer while the time is getting shorter. When you’re rotating sickness like we have been, simple things like the dishes and the laundry reliably don’t happen - let alone the extra preparation that comes with a pending baby. Throw in the July newsletter’s reflections on Proverbs 31 and marriage challenges as the cherry on top.
Below the surface has been lingering much deeper things. This baby is an answered prayer that we have waited on for a long while. Even still, there is grief in the midst of the joy, making each moment bittersweet. There have been so many moments I have wanted - needed - to talk to mom throughout this pregnancy. Alas, the Lord saw fit to call her home, knowing full well we’d learn of this baby before the year mark of her leaving us. And He has met me in that space, seeing to it that I have Jesus-loving ladies around me, ready to fill any void left by mom that they are able.
Even still, mingled with my grief has been a lack of faith. I’ve found that somewhere in my heart I have been unable to fully embrace the joy of this baby. The lies of the enemy keep trying to sneak in and remind me that what the Lord gives, He can also take away - seeking to fuel my faithlessness, doubt, and fear. The lies sprinkled with truth are the ones most easy to believe. Yes the Lord could choose to take this baby but losing faith in the face of this fear is a discredit to who God is and the beautiful path He has led me down. He is my Father who walks beside me, behind me, and before me. My path has had hardship but also no shortage of blessing. He took on mortality and humanity in the form of Jesus of Nazareth and died a sinner's death that He did not deserve to save MY soul. Salvation I did not earn and do not deserve.
He is my… Supporter. Nurturer. Comforter. Redeemer. Breath of Life. Almighty God. Path maker. All Knowing. Life Giver. Creator. Provider. Yahweh.
My current battles are reminders that I can tread the stones before me with easy confidence because He walks with me and will never forsake me. I just need to keep looking up.
A Note for New Subscribers
If you are new here, welcome! I am Katlyn, artist and owner of Seed’s Gate. I have been married for 12 years to a wonderful husband with whom I have two growing boys and another one on the way! I pray this newsletter speaks to your heart and emboldings your walk with the Lord. If you are interested, you can view and read old issues of the SG Newsletter here. Each issue digs deeper into a print or two than the information provided on either my website listings or on social media. I’m so happy to have you hear and I hope my art and the stories behind it will be a blessing to you!
Ministry Note
This shop is first and foremost a ministry and it requires intentionality to keep that direction. If you know someone going through something that one of my pieces speaks to, please let me know! I would love to join in prayer for them and to be able to gift such pieces free of charge in hopes they put it where they will see it and be reminded of the Goodness of God in the depths of their struggles.
News & Upcoming Events
Recent news for Seed’s Gate Print Shop is short and sweet! I launched an Etsy Shop and got my first sale! So that’s pretty cool. Otherwise the studio (it’s really a table in the livingroom yall) is gathering dust and boxes as we rearrange our lives in preparation for the birth of our newest son. Aside from that I am very slowly working on a commission - emphasis on the very.
I was talking with my eldest just the other day about all the things coming up. It is as if we have made it past the on ramp and August is the highway! Oh boy how things have picked up. August alone includes multiple birthdays, a super fun ninja birthday party, school starting (literally tomorrow), and baby shower to celebrate our little nugget! So much to do and celebrate on top of the normal day-to-day operations of the house. I am striving to see the blessings in the busyness!
You won’t catch Seed’s Gate at any markets anytime soon but I have the Millard’s Crossing Christmas Market in mind! If not around Christmas then I am shooting for Millard’s Easter Event, perhaps a Market On Main. We will see what and where the path that the Lord has made will bring us.
God be with you!
-Katlyn
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Email: seedsgate@gmail.com
Website: Seeds Gate Print Shop
Etsy: SeedsGatePrintShop
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