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Garden Spaces with Baked in Graces
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’ (Genesis 3:8-9) Before the fall the first humans spent time with God in a garden. What a beautiful picture we see in this passage. God, as the Creator of His paradise walking regularly for pleasure with Adam and Eve. I can almost picture them stopping, waiting and listening, maybe excitement rising, stilling themselves, getting ready to walk with God. God still calls to me regularly: Where are you? Not because the omniscient (all knowing) omnipresent (present everywhere at the same time) God has lost me, but because it is His desire for me to walk with Him. By the way, if you didn’t recognize it, that’s what we call good news. As I approach this scripture, the word that pops out at me is…garden. The Hebrew word for garden is gannah, which literally means a covered or hidden place. Gardens in biblical settings were usually small, walled enclosures; tranquil spaces in which you could tuck yourself out of sight and find a moment of rest and connection. In each different place that I have lived, I have had a special place where I spend my quiet time, this is my metaphorical garden; my place of encounter. Location and time of day can be completely different for everyone. In some places I have lived, it has been a literal garden. Other times it has been at a beach, a lake, or a forest area. In Topeka, it has been on my deck looking out over my backyard. I love how in one of my favorite Christian films the main character turns a plain closet into a spiritual war room. In the latter part of the film, the house that holds this prayer room is being sold. The prospective buyers walk through the house, stops outside the closet and asks, “who has been praying in this room?” The realtor asks the prospective buyer how they could tell that it was a prayer closet. The man answers, “it’s baked in.” Would that our times of spiritual intimacy with God be so significant that it is baked into our lives. I encourage you to create a garden space as a place to meet with him. As we soon enter in just a few weeks into holy week and as we pore over the scriptures of Jesus as he journeys towards Golgotha Hill, may his sacrificial presence be so ever close to you in these coming days. And may the words of this old hymn become an experiential reality for you. I come to the garden alone While the dew is still on the roses And the voice I hear, falling on my ear The Son of God discloses And He walks with me And He talks with me And He tells me I am His own And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known Pastor Donny
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AuthorNotes from the Staff @The Woods Archives
March 2023
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