Referenced post on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-176045133
WHERE TO FIND US:
– read my writing on substack: https://jesssowards.substack.com
-Our Website: https://rootsandrefuge.com
-Miah’s Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@miahsworkshop
-My Cooking Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Farmers_Table
– Sign up for our newsletter: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-signup
-Order Coffee & Tea from our roaster: https://www.beulahroastingco.com
-Our Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/SFA0IZHZRCOZ?ref_=wl_share
-The Roots and Refuge Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/roots-and-refuge-podcast/id1669328823
-Merch sales: Real Food Comes Dirty Shirts: https://roots-and-refuge-farm-shop.fourthwall.com/products/real-food-comfort-color
PRODUCTS I LOVE AND SUPPORT:
Greenstalk Vertical Gardens(Use code ROOTS10 for discount): https://greenstalkgarden.com/?rstr=ROOTS10
The white beds in my tea garden (Birdies Beds from Epic Gardening): https://shop.epicgardening.com/ROOTSANDREFUGE
BootstrapFarmer Site: https://shrsl.com/3w46t
The Roots and Refuge Shop: https://roots-refuge.myshopify.com
Order our T-Shirts and Sweatshirts https://roots-and-refuge-farm-shop.fourthwall.com/collections/all
Dramm Watering head: https://amzn.to/3Djs9yF
Long neck Dramm watering wand (for more established plants): https://amzn.to/41xxcoH
Heat mats: https://amzn.to/3QCyhVX
Grow lights: https://amzn.to/41yscAd
(Some of these thinks are affiliate links which means I make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Using my affiliate links helps me buy seeds and soil and goats, so thank you.)
20 Comments
Oh sis, i promised myself I was not going to cry this morning.. sweetheart you have a community behind you. We mourn with you, cry with you, laugh and are joyous with you. We all wrap our arms around you and pray. May you have a healthy, safe, and prosperous day. Love you
Just want you to know that you were the first person I ever watched and fell in love with. I could not get enough of the information you were putting out there. I am not new to the homestead life I've always had chickens, ducks, pigs and lot's of other animals. Always had a summer garden, and canned food every year, but I learned so much from you. You are such an amazing inspiration to me and I'm sure thousands other's. I started watching Jill because of her buying your Arkansas farm, I was almost heartbroken when you moved cause I live in north Arkansas on the land that my great grandparents homesteaded in 1911, and I was afraid you would no longer teach things that would pertain to my climate. Happy to say I was wrong !! I check my notifications daily to see if you've posted a new video and it excites me each time you have. I truly hope you never stop creating on u tube it's the only thing I watch but that being said you need to put you and your family first always. You would be truly missed though. !!
You have been a beacon of light in my life since I found your channel in 2019, when I first began to dream of living life on a little farm. While I am still in waiting for that dream, and have even lost sight of that dream because it just seems impossible somedays, I have continued to watch your channel. Your glass house has been a salve to my longing, a balm to the reality of being human. Thank you Jess, I'm so thankful for the time and the heart that you put into this work for us. ♥️
I dont know that you recognize how strong you are. What you've acomplished across years of health struggles. Your ability through shear force of will to make things happen even when your body hurts. Because many times it just had to get done. That strength has inspired me even when I thought I couldnt get up. Watching you and your glass house helped me say "just one small thing. Just do one small thing. Dont stay down." It is the human Jess we love. I wish I could bring you some homemade passion flower tincture, pour you a cup of your own coffee and just sit with you to watch the sunrise and just be, so our grief has space to be, too. Sometimes a person there to just be is a very good thing and though we cannot physically be there, I walk beside you in spirit. ❤
Oh, Jess, I read about your loss, and my heart breaks for your sorrow. While watching this video, I was afraid you were saying goodbye to us all. A part of me was crying out, No! Please don't leave us, and the other part of me completely understood if you would have said goodbye. Very glad to see that you are choosing to stay. Sending you my love, always.
😊I’m watching/listening while filling out holiday cards to send out next month. Yes, I’m a planner, list maker and struggle daily, but when I surprise myself in a month feeling overwhelmed with the holidays I’ll be able to say “good job” to myself. I love getting ahead of spreading the love to others while not draining myself completely. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but we’re always learning in life. YOU ARE LOVED! YOU ARE APPRECIATED! THANK YOU for sharing of yourself with others! ❤❤❤
Love you Jess <3 you're a real blessing of a human x big hug
❤
Sweet Jess. I cannot begin to tell you how much you have taught me about the garden and being a Christian. Im so sorry for your loss.. What I know personally is that God carries us in the midst of our pain even when there is no understanding of the circumstances, even when it is hard to breathe, hard to get out of bed and hard to be present. I have learned that it is ok to let go of some things. My close circle of friends has meant the world to me and carried me through. God is faithful and shows up in ways we least expect. I pray that God brings you comfort and that you tangibly feel his presence.
You make too much money on YouTube to quit.
You've been our refuge. Now it's time for us to be yours. If there's anything we can do besides prayer, which has always been occurring anyway let us know.
So sorry for your loss. ❤ Prayers for your family's healing…
Hang in there Jess. I am not a homesteader, put I have learned a lot from your videos about gardening, cooking, etc. for which I am grateful. But you have to do you. As a 70 year old widow, (my husband passed away 10 yrs. ago, my Dad 7 yrs. ago, and my Mom 3 yrs ago), I have learned that life is still a blessing to behold. Take time to do what's really important to you, and never feel pressured to please the world. I was always told, if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all! Have a wonderful day and take care.
I am so so sorry for your loss. In the past 3 years we have had 3 losses in our family and truth be told you never fully heal but you do eventually keep going. Sometimes life is just going through the motions, moving forward because you have to, and sometimes it’s truly beautiful and joy filled. I pray you and your family can find the joy through the sorrow. A book that has been invaluable to me is Every Moment Holy Volume 2 it’s a book on liturgy’s and that one is on grief. This is one I held onto tightly when the grief was almost too much to bear:
“We willingly carry this ache. We carry it, oh, Father, to you. You created our hearts for unbroken fellowship. Yet the constraints of time and place, and the stuttering rhythms of life in a fallen world dictate that all fellowships in these days will at times be broken or incomplete. We acknowledge, O Lord, that it is a right and a good thing to miss deeply those whom we love, but with whom we cannot be physically present. Grant us therefore courage to love well even in this time of absence. Grant us courage to shrink, neither from the ache, nor from the joys that love brings, for each, willingly received, will accomplish the good works you have appointed them to do. Therefore, we praise you, even for our sadness, knowing that the sorrows we steward in this life, will in time be redeemed. We praise you, knowing that these glad aches are a true measure of the bond you have wrought between our hearts. Now use our sorrows as tools in your hand, oh, Lord, shaping our hearts into a truer imitation of the affections of Christ. Use even this sadness to carve out spaces in our souls where still greater repositories of holy affection might be held, unto the end that we might better love, in times of absence and in times of presence alike. We now entrust all to your keeping. May our reunion be joyous whether in this life, or in the life to come. How we look forward, O Lord, to the day, when all our fellowships will be restored, eternal, and unbroken. Amen.”
Peace, hope, love, and eventual peace and joy to you and your family. I bless you
I have followed you for awhile! Your faith will get you through this sad time in life. Many prayers for you and your family. Most of those who criticize are trying to cover up their own pain. Keep up the good works!
Thank you for showing us your pumpkins and also thank you for wanting to show us your pumpkins. You are so greatly appreciated and I've never thought you were ingenuine, if that counts for anything. I hope the praise your followers have for you drowns out the negative that there always is on the internet. Sending love and prayers to you and your family ❤
Oh Jess my heart, prayers and love are with you. I was watching The Smiths YouTube channel right before you. Amber Smith's new book just came out "The girl on the bathroom floor". This may be a book that could help in this time for you. I know you love books. I cherish my time watching your journey. The good the bad and the wild!! You touch my heart so much!!
You are such a beautiful person and I am so bless to have found you. Sending you all of the love hugs and prayers❤
❤ I bless you back!
God bless you and your family.
I'm sorry for the pain and loss you and your husband (family) have gone through.
God is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18).
It can feel so lonely in times of grief… like even God has not only left you, but doesn't care what you are feeling.
These are lies from the satan. He's a bastard. God feels every bit of pain you do. He's sad that you're sad. He loves you. Lean on Him, no matter how hard it is. You need His strength and love to fill the void that was created.
I'll lift you up in prayer, and if you can't pray yourself – you can't find the words, worship and/or pray in tongues.