Most of Our Growth Happens in the Gaps

Over the last few months, many of you have reached out to ask about the progress of my cookbook, The Plant-Based Table. Honestly, I’m still waiting.

The manuscript is mostly finished. I signed with a literary agent back in November, and he has submitted the proposal to a number of publishers. We’ve even received one offer. But my agent believes it’s wise to wait and see if more interest develops before moving forward.

I won’t pretend that’s easy.

As I was listening to a Bible teacher recently, it felt like he was talking straight to me during this season of waiting. He said, “Most of your growth happens in the gaps.”

The gap is the space between obedience and outcome. It’s the distance between planting a seed and harvesting the crop. It’s the waiting period between God’s promise and our ability to see what He’s doing.

I think one reason these gaps are so difficult is because of our expectations. Deep down, many of us assume that if we obey God, He will respond immediately. If we do the work, we’ll quickly see the results. If we follow His leading, the path ahead will become clear right away.

But God never promises us immediate results. He often works in ways that are very different from how we expect Him to work.

The truth is that some of our greatest spiritual growth happens while we’re waiting, trusting, enduring, and persevering. Looking back, I can see this clearly in my cookbook journey.

I actually completed a cookbook manuscript back in 2023 and tried approaching publishers on my own. There were some nibbles, but nothing came through. At the time, it was simply another plant-based cookbook. And let’s be honest—there are already plenty of wonderful plant-based cookbooks on bookstore shelves. I own dozens of them myself.

Then something shifted. In late 2024, I began sharing my faith more openly with followers of EatPlant-Based and started the Morning Brew section of this newsletter. During that season, I felt God nudging me to completely rethink the cookbook. Instead of creating only a collection of recipes, I sensed Him leading me to weave encouraging reflections throughout the book—much like the Morning Brew devotionals you read here each week.

So I went back to work. I rewrote the manuscript and finished the new version in March of 2025.

Today, The Plant-Based Table is unlike any plant-based cookbook I’ve personally seen. It contains 101 recipes, but it’s also filled with reflections, stories, encouragement, and faith. My hope is that it will be the kind of book people enjoy reading as much as cooking from.

And now I’m waiting again. But perhaps the waiting isn’t wasted. Perhaps God is still working in the gap.

Maybe He’s preparing the right publisher. Maybe He’s preparing the right timing. Maybe He’s preparing me for what is to come.

Whatever the reason, I’ve come to realize that growth rarely happens when everything is easy and moving according to my schedule. Growth happens when I’m learning to trust God ​even when I can’t see what He’s doing​.

If you’re in a gap right now—a season where you’ve done the work but haven’t yet seen the results—don’t lose heart.

Stand firm. Keep trusting. Keep obeying. Keep showing up.

The gap may feel frustrating, but it may also be the very place where God is ​doing some of His most important work​.

And one day, when you look back, you may discover that what felt like a delay was actually preparation all along.

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” Hebrews 10:36

The idea for this week’s reflection was inspired by a message I recently listened to called ​Strategies for Spiritual Frustration​ by Dr. Dharius Daniels. One of his statements that really stayed with me was, “Most of your growth happens in the gaps.” It gave me a fresh perspective on this season of waiting and reminded me that God is often doing some of His best work in us before we ever see the results.

June 26, 2026 Morning Brew