In the Garden

Spring has sprung where I live. The earth is bursting with color and new life. After the dull colors of winter, we can hardly handle all the colors that are coming our way. The bright pinks, the beautiful golds, purple and blue flowers. Then the fragrance hits you and it smells so sweet. Even to my nose, that doesn't appreciate Spring as much as I wish it did. But allergies and all, I love Spring. It always reminds me of new life and a fresh start. Somethings are blooming for the first while others have been doing it for centuries. Some of the trees around here are very old. Yet, year after year, they push new buds and new leaves. There is another reason I enjoy Spring, however, and it is because I get to sit "in the Garden".

You see, there is small little path, that if you weren't looking you would miss it. It only blooms for a short time. Maybe two weeks at the most, if you are lucky. My grandmother showed it to me when I was little and I could find it still today, with my eyes shut. Lord willing, I will do the same for my grandchildren. I am going to share some pictures with you of my "Garden". You see, to me, it is my little piece of Eden. Now, the Eden mentioned in the bible was beyond compare, but for a few short weeks, every Spring, I pretend I am in the Garden. It happens this way. I am usually busy with flower beds, vegetable garden or mowing the grass and I will sense the Holy Spirit whisper, it is just about ready, will you come spend sometime with me? Wait another few days and it will be just perfect". Then when the weather is just right, warm and sunny, but not too hot, I will quietly slip away with my camera and loose all track of time. The entrance to my Garden is full of golden yellow flowers, they bloom first, and that reminds me of the "streets of gold".

Then I will see a few rocks and old tree stumps that are perfect for sitting. Then it happens, I find the right spot and a slow but gentle breeze will start. I feel as though my Savior has stopped whatever He was doing and is sitting right beside me. It is then I notice all the different wildflowers start to stand out. There are pink ones, and white ones and even a few yellow ones. I remember the way my Grandma pointed them out to me. I also remember, we didn't dig them out and move them or even really cut many, it was a place to see them the way they were meant to be.

 I remember her telling me how these were called bachelor's britches. Don't they look like a pair of pants hanging upside down?



I am reminded in Genesis 2:8 it tell us, "Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made". God planted my garden as well. I like to think just for me, but there are many in my family that have enjoyed it as well. Who knows, even my Grandma may have put some of those flowers there. The Garden of Eden was perfect. Sin had not yet entered.

But I noticed this year something I never noticed before. When I go each Spring it is perfect and beautiful, everything is at its best, but if I were to return a month later, it would look totally different. It would be full of burn hazel, thorns, thistles, and even poison ivy and poison oak. If I looked closely, I may even find a snake or two. A reminder of what happened when sin came into the world. I am given a brief glance of what God meant this world to look like, but because of mans choice I also see what it has become.

The next part I enjoy reading is Genesis 3:8 "When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden.". Now they had just sinned and they were hiding from him, but when I read, cool evening breeze blowing, I am reminded of the gentle breeze I feel when I am in my Garden. There is a stream that flows along the edge as well. Maybe that is why I feel a breeze, but I get to hear the soft trickling sound of the water as it passes over the rocks. The other part of that verse is, it mentions in the evening. Is that why I love sunsets so much. I feel so close to God when I see a sunset. As though, it reminds me, He has helped me through another day. It is such a peaceful way to end a busy day. Do we take time to see the sunsets He creates each day?  This year, I headed back to my Garden and while it is beautiful, it is not at the peek yet, so I will return again in a few days. It is so quiet and enjoyable, I loose all track of time. I do not keep track of time, I stay as long as I need. There is no other place on our farm that has this same patch of wildflowers, it is a special place. As I was leaving, I turned around one last time, I didn't want to say good-bye, I didn't want to leave my secret Garden and this is what He painted in the evening sky, not because He had to, He could have covered it with clouds, but He did this, because He could, and it was a reminder to me, I don't have to wait till Spring to meet with Him, but that the evening was special to Him as well.

I know that one day, He will call me home and I will see gardens that will take an eternity to walk through. I know there will be no more weeds and thorny plants or snakes. It will be just the way God had planned it from day one. I look forward to that day. Some say, what will Heaven look like, will there be streets of actual gold, will there be towns, fields, animals, etc. I don't know the answer to those questions, but I do know this. I will not be disappointed with any of it. I will have complete fellowship with Christ forever. My small piece of Eden now, will seem like the size of a mustard seed, to Heaven. But for now, this is my little piece of Eden to feel so close to Him while I need to be here for awhile longer.

My hope is you know this type fellowship as well. You may not have a patch of wildflowers where you live, but you can have your own Garden experience. For you, it might be a certain park bench under a certain tree, or a chair on the beach, or maybe that perfect corner table in the local coffee shop. I want to encourage you, to find your own Garden and sit in it. You see the Garden was where man and woman had perfect relationship with God. He came and met with them. It doesn't have to be a land of paradise. He is waiting for you to come to Him in your Garden. He knows what thrills your heart and He is preparing that for you. He loves to spend time with you, however, you must do your part and show up. Sometimes I wonder how many times did he prepare a place for me to come and relax with Him, but I chose to try it on my own and waited till I was exhausted before coming. Relationship is key to Him. He wants us to know Him, so we can trust Him and live our lives for Him. We spend so much time getting to know people here on earth for relationships that come and go, yet how much time do we spend with the Creator who chooses us as we are, and wants to spend eternity with us! Please spend some quality time in your Garden, you will walk away renewed, refreshed, and strengthened.