Beneath the Flowers Podcast

About Beneath the Flowers Podcast

Chérie is a follower of Jesus ✞ writing poems and reflections for those longing to see God, themselves, and the world with fresh eyes. beneaththeflowers.substack.com (https://beneaththeflowers.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Chérie Jade

Category

religion & spirituality · science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

26 Oct 2024

Latest episode

17 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

27 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Oct 2026

   From Orphan to Heir: A Biblical Look at Rejection and Belonging

   Thank you to everyone who tuned into us live! An honest conversation about how rejection has shaped us, what scripture reveals about belonging, and what it looks like to let God reshape your understanding of both. One thing we didn’t touch on that is also a crucial part in the journey of the believer is deliverance. Which doesn’t have to always be an outward display. Deliverance also happens through the renewal of our mind. Casting darkness (orphan spirits, spirit of rejection/fear/abandonment) out of our minds and allowing God to heal the wound they festered on. Sometimes this will only happen through prayer, intercession and fasting (Mark 9). Much of life is spiritual.. we spend only a fraction of our time in the natural. Scripture references: * Psalm 139 * Ephesians 1 * Romans 8 * 1 John 3:1–3 * 1 Samuel 16:7 (The Lord does not see as man sees) Isaiah 43:1–4 (When everyone rejects you take confidence in God being with you) * Hebrews 4:14–16 IG/TikTok: write.gently IG: bentiwahslibrary Substack: bentiwahjohnson Join me for my next live video in the app. Beneath the Flowers is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beneaththeflowers.substack.com/subscribe (https://beneaththeflowers.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

2. 

   13 Oct 2026

   Have we forgotten joy?

   Do we even know her? I’ve been paying attention to the fruit in my life and the lives of those around me. Tending to my garden, I’ve been noticing what is flourishing and what might need more faith, more surrender, or more time. And I noticed something. We rarely, if ever, speak about joy. Serious people eat their main course first and joy… joy can seem like dessert. Sweet and optional. Something reserved for special occasions. Fortunately for us, joy isn't something we earn. It is the fruit we cultivate as we walk with the Holy Spirit. A necessary distinction. Let me be careful here, because saying “choose joy” can curdle into something insulting and delusional. Joy doesn’t require you to pretend grief isn’t real or the injustice isn’t happening. If our joy only survives by looking away, it’s fragile. Also, joy and happiness are different. Joy runs deeper. Happiness depends on circumstances going well and is often a response to our environment. Joy is a Spirit-grown capacity to recognize and participate in the goodness of God, even when our circumstances give us reason to grieve. It is the belief that goodness is real and worth cultivating on this side of heaven. The long tradition of joy under pressure. I’ve also noticed an aversion toward joy and an inclination toward grief. But I think there is something defiant about being a people who, when faced with opposition, still know how to enjoy life. Joy then becomes one of the boldest ways we bear our cross. Some of the most enduring words about joy ever written came from people with every reason not to write them. Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, with its repeated command to rejoice, while chained in prison. Enslaved communities made songs that carried both sorrow and defiant gladness. Nehemiah told a grieving, rebuilding people that the joy of the Lord was their strength, and by strength he meant in the practical sense of something to stand on. None of these people were naive. They knew how dark it was and their joy declared that darkness would not have the final say. subscribe for more articles like this :) Joy on purpose. If joy is resistance, then it’s something we tend on purpose, not something we wait to feel. From my personal experience, joy is easier to hold in good company. Gather with people you delight in. Throw the party, host the dinner, show up for someone else’s celebration. Let time slip by as you dance in the kitchen. Also, everything doesn’t have to be tidy all the time. Let a beautiful moment be beautiful, without feeling guilty that something else is not. One reason I like to garden is that it’s a small declarations of the future. Something beautiful will grow from this seed. I expect it. Even if not every seed sprouts, there’s joy and hope in believing that some seeds are still good. Joy is evidence. Joy reflects a life surrendered to Christ. It, too, is to be cultivated. Every act of delight is a small reminder that darkness hasn’t won. So why do we reject joy? Are we undervaluing one of the fruits of the Spirit? Or does grief simply feel more real to hold? As a follower of Christ, I don’t believe joy requires me to pretend the world is better than it is. My hope is rooted in God’s character, not the condition of the world. Peter reminds us that there is joy that transcends what we can see and touch—a gladness rooted in our faith in Christ (1 Peter 1:8–9). Joy is how we keep fighting without becoming what we’re fighting against. It is a way of remembering what is still true about God. It becomes a way of participating in the good that remains. Don’t let it harden you. We don’t have to abandon delight to prove that we care about what’s broken. We can make room for grief without making it our home. Our capacity to carry both joy and grief is a beautiful gift. One that I am grateful for. Finding reasons to be grateful retrains our attention and reminds us to participate in this life we've been gifted. Gratitude is an ember that helps joy catch fire. I’m not asking you to pretend or be unaware of the terrors of the night or the arrows of the day as described in Psalm 91 —that would be spiritually irresponsible. We know scripture doesn’t promise a world with no suffering, but if we’re not careful, we can become so preoccupied with the darkness that we forget we were made to bear light. As followers of Jesus, we bear His cross and His light. John speaking of Jesus: “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” —John 1:5. Jesus encouraging His disciples: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” —Matthew 5:14 We are here to push back against decay. And we do that with joy. So, consider this your gentle reminder to go enjoy something today. Goodness is still here. And darkness, for all its noise, does not get to have all of you. Amen? Amen. ♡ I’ll write to you again soon. © 2026 Chérie Grant. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from the author. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chérie is a visual and spoken word artist, social scientist, and community builder. Born in Jamaica and now based in Atlanta, she is the author of The Flower Before The Fruit, an interactive poetry book, the creator of Beneath the Flowers, and the founder of Restore, a faith-led supper book club for women. Through her writing and book club, Chérie creates unhurried spaces where people gather to share stories, deepen their faith, and rediscover the beauty of living deeply rooted in Christ. Her work is grounded in the belief that beauty, curiosity, creativity, and honest reflection can become pathways to belonging, wholeness, and a fruitful life with God. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her painting nature-inspired pieces, wandering botanical gardens or lush trails with her journal in hand, blending loose-leaf teas, or discovering a new café in a new city. Learn more about her work at authoredbycher.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beneaththeflowers.substack.com/subscribe (https://beneaththeflowers.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

3. 

   19 Aug 2026

   When we only have ourselves to trust

   We, humans, are ever-changing by nature. This isn’t inherently a bad thing. If anything, it just shows that we need an anchor. Jeremiah 17:5 - 9 paints a picture of two different kinds of hearts. One that’s tethered to God. The other is not. We often reach for verse nine when we’re talking about our emotional state. “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?” But the passage is bigger than a warning about our feelings. It’s speaking about trust. It begins with the person who trusts in mankind and makes his flesh his strength. Then, just a few verses later, we get the contrast: “Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.” One heart is rooted in something outside itself. The other has made itself the foundation. Where we place our trust shapes the life that grows from us. Scripture gives us plenty of stories that show us what happens when our heart begins taking direction from itself: * Abraham grew impatient with God’s promise * Samson repeatedly placed his allegiance in what he desired rather than what God instructed * Adam & Eve trusted their own interpretation of what was good rather than the word God already gave them The details are different, but the pattern is the same: When the heart becomes untethered, the life that flows from it reflects that— like a mirror. Don’t get me wrong, trusting yourself is important. God gave us the ability to make decisions and the wisdom to make good ones. But there is a subtle difference between trusting yourself and believing yourself to be the final authority. We change. But God doesn’t. Paul says it plainly: “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part” – 1 Corinthians 13:9 This is a part of being human —having the humility to admit that what I know today is not everything there is to know. Our vantage point is incomplete. And as long as we’re wrapped in earth elements, we are looking through a window rather than seeing the whole house. So how could I trust myself as the foundation of a house I cannot perceive fully? subscribe for more like this ♡ We weren’t meant to see everything from where we stand. We don’t know the end of our story, no matter how hard we try to control it. And I understand why we try to control it. There’s something comforting about believing we can figure it out. To anticipate every possible outcome and stay three steps ahead of disappointment gives us a sense of safety. I’ve experienced the strange fruit of an untethered life. There were seasons where I would rely so heavily on myself that I didn’t allow myself room for error. I was anxious, critical, and overly concerned with getting things ‘right.’ I had a false sense of freedom masking control. I was quick to judge myself for mistakes and judged others even quicker. I didn’t understand the human experience or the human heart, much less my own. I wanted certainty from a life that could only offer mystery. I believed God was there, I just didn’t know how to trust Him. I didn’t realize that surrender and self-reliance can’t exist together. Sometimes we hold onto control because we don’t know what will be left of us when we finally let go. So we stay. Until the weight becomes too heavy or the thing we’re using to keep ourselves safe becomes the thing keeping us from moving. When I decided to trust God more than I trust myself, I began to experience the fullness of my humanity —not just the beautiful parts. The fear. The contradiction. All of it. I began to understand why Jeremiah spoke so seriously about the heart. There is a kind of dependence that diminishes us, then there’s a kind that restores us. The kind that restores us doesn’t ask us to abandon self-awareness, wisdom, or responsibility. Something powerful happened when I finally tethered my heart to Jesus —I became more honest about how trusting myself in this sea of life, without an anchor, inevitably makes me unprepared for the storm. Dependence makes room. I think this is one reason Jesus sent His disciples out two by two. He could have sent them alone. Instead, He gave them one another. They went without knowing exactly what would happen. This matters because God doesn’t only teach us dependence on Him in our secret place. He also teaches us dependence on Him through people. He gives us opportunities to lean in to the wise counsel, to be supported, and to admit that we don’t have all the answers. All I’m saying is, trust placed anywhere else but in God is sinking sand. — Matthew 7:24 - 27 You are allowed to make choices, exercise wisdom, dream, wander, create. However, there’s a difference between being free to wander and having nowhere to return to. And I think, for a long time, I confused the two. Being rooted was never about becoming less free. It was about finally knowing where freedom could safely take me and where I could always return. Thank you for sitting with me beneath the flowers. If my writing has ever encouraged you and you’d like to support the time, thought, and intention that goes into creating pieces like this, you’re welcome to buy me a coffee. Every contribution helps tend this little corner of the internet where faith, art, and honest storytelling continue to bloom. Buy me a coffee (http://buymeacoffee.com/cheriejade) I’ll write to you again soon~ P.s. the movement of the people in every photo captured in long exposure—there’s a poem there. Imagine if we saw the world in that way... Imagine if we saw people in that way… Who would we trust? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beneaththeflowers.substack.com/subscribe (https://beneaththeflowers.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

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