Give Me A Path Home!
Around the world, perhaps no story has been told more often than The Parable of the Lost Son. Why? Because it speaks so honestly about the human condition—and about the possibility of coming home.
Jesus tells of a young man who leaves his father's house, squanders his inheritance, and eventually finds himself hungry and feeding pigs in a distant land. Then, in one of the most powerful moments in scripture, Jesus says:
“when He came to himself...”, he was willing to re-think his life.
Engraving 7.4 × 11.7 cm (sheet), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Felton Bequest, 1950, Photo: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
He remembered his father's house. He faced the reality of where his choices had taken him. And then he got up and began the journey home. That simple sequence — awareness, decision, and a new direction—is at the heart of what we mean at Eden Streets when we talk about relaunching a life.
Two Farms. One Awakening to a Path Home.
There are, in a sense, two farms in this story.
The first was the father's farm—the young man's childhood home. There he had family, meaningful work, food, responsibility, belonging, and purpose.
He chose to leave it all.
The second farm was far away, where he found himself caring for pigs. Hungry, alone, and without status, he had reached rock bottom. Yet strangely, this second farm became the place where he remembered the first.
It was there that he came to himself.
That's a remarkable metaphor for Eden Streets. We don't believe a farm magically fixes a person's life. We believe a farm can create the place where a person can face reality, rebuild relationships, rediscover purpose, and begin to see themselves differently.
Sometimes losing our way helps us recognize what we truly need. Sometimes losing work helps us rediscover the dignity of work. Sometimes isolation awakens our longing to belong. And sometimes we need a place where we can work, belong, and be known before we can begin finding our way home.
Work. Belong. Begin Again.
The Path to a New Beginning
At Eden Streets, we create that kind of place for people who are ready for a new beginning. Our farm-based job-training program gives interns more than a job. It provides an environment where they are expected, needed, known, and encouraged to grow.
PLACE
A farm where you are expected, needed, and known.
PURPOSE
Real work that produces something tangible and valuable—food.
PEOPLE
A crew that notices when you show up—and when you don't. People who encourage you and hold you accountable.
PRACTICE
Healthy rhythms of trying, failing, reflecting, and trying again.
PERSPECTIVE
A new way of seeing yourself, your work, your relationships, and your future.
HOPE
The possibility that your story isn't over—that your past does not have to define your future.
But the person still has to take the first step. Like the lost son, they must decide to get up. We simply provide a place where that decision can take root.
One Person at a Time
Consider Jeffrey. Jeffrey was desperate for work and living out of his car. Jesse, a businessman in Ogden, chose to sponsor him through Eden Streets.
After nearly four months working on the farm, Jeffrey is now able to pay for gas, rent an apartment, and apply for a full-time carpentry apprenticeship. But perhaps even more important, he has discovered that he can show up, work hard, and prove something to himself. His motivation, confidence, and hope are coming back. That is a relaunch.
It doesn't happen all at once. It happens one person at a time, one day at a time, one relationship at a time.
You Can Provide the Field
You can't make someone change. You can't make someone choose a new direction. But you can help provide the field where they can relaunch their life.
By sponsoring an Eden Streets farm intern, you help create a place where someone who desperately wants a second chance can work, belong, rediscover purpose, and begin again.
Imagine the joy of a mother or father who once feared their child was lost—now seeing that child standing on their feet, working, contributing, and finding a way home. That is what your generosity can help make possible.
“Give me a path home.” That is the cry of someone who is ready to begin again.
Will you help provide the field? Sponsor a farm intern. Help relaunch a life.
written by "Farmer Karl" Ebeling, Executive Director of Eden Streets. September 2026
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