The Ivytree Studio Story – Part 5: The Seed God Planted

Sometimes the things God places inside us begin quietly.

A small interest.
A skill we almost overlook.
A longing we cannot fully explain.

At the time, we may think those things are insignificant or disconnected from our future. But years later, we often realise that God was planting seeds all along.

This season of my life became one of those moments.

While I was still teaching during those three important years after returning to mainstream education, something deeper was slowly happening beneath the surface.

I was becoming increasingly restless.

As a highly sensitive and artistic person, the structure and demands of mainstream education began feeling heavier and heavier on my heart. I loved teaching, creativity, and connecting with students, but I also sensed that God was stirring something new inside me.

And when I look back now, I can see that the seeds had actually been planted years earlier.

Way back at that very first special needs school, I would often stay after school and paint in my classroom as a way to relax and process life. Those quiet creative moments became sacred spaces for me.

Without fully realising it, God was already preparing me.

During those years, I attended training courses to teach Arts & Culture as a subject, and I absolutely loved it. I also received training in Technology and had to learn how to use computers more independently.

At the time, it felt practical and necessary. But now I understand how foundational those years truly were.

I taught myself how to work with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Later, I not only used computers in every aspect of my teaching career, but also taught Technology as a subject myself. At the same time, I slowly began learning graphic design.

I became the editor of our school newspaper, designed layouts, worked with photography, organised creative projects, planned workshops, developed curriculum, and explored many different creative avenues along the way.

I also wrote songs and poetry, painted décor for stage productions, and constantly found myself drawn toward visual storytelling and creativity.

At the time, none of it seemed connected.

But looking back now, I can clearly see God’s golden thread weaving through every season, every skill, and every experience — stitching together the tapestry that would eventually become Ivytree Studio and the Artful Ways Membership.

Even the very first business plan I ever wrote still makes me smile when I look at it today.

The name was different.
The ideas were simpler.
But the heart of it already existed.

And through all of this, another deeply personal journey was unfolding, too.

I longed for marriage and family and spent years praying faithfully for a husband. My prayer journals from that season became precious reminders of God’s faithfulness.

Eventually, after years of waiting and praying, God answered those prayers and brought Henry into my life.

Looking back now, I see a faithful God who never wastes a season and never ignores the prayers of His children.

One of the greatest lessons I have learned is this:

God often prepares us long before we understand what He is preparing us for.

The skills you think are small…
The interests you quietly carry…
The things that come naturally to you…

None of them are accidental.

God wastes nothing.

And sometimes the very things that calm your heart and bring life to your spirit are clues pointing toward your future calling.

The next chapter became one of the biggest leaps of faith of my life.

👉 I’ll share how I left behind stability, stepped into the unknown, and discovered just how faithful God truly is in unfamiliar places.

Thank you for walking through this story with me.

If you are creative, sensitive, faith-filled, and trying to understand how your own story fits together, I hope this encourages you to trust that God is weaving something meaningful through every season of your life too.

And if you enjoy creativity rooted in faith and Scripture…join Ivytree Studio today.