Words of Hope: Garden
As I plan for Dad’s Celebration of Life, the person helping me organize the décor told me that because the stage is large, she imagined we could make it like a garden and asked if my Dad liked gardens. Of course, I teared up as I thought of all the times my Dad would seek out a physical garden for prayer or go into his sacred garden he imagined for a time of connection with God.
I have been avoiding my secret garden prayer time. I pray but in a rushed and troubled way—I have been forgetting as Dad says to “set the table” for these moments by valuing the time, eliminating distractions – the biggest of which is my phone and particularly the news on the war in Ukraine, US economy, and any other anxious rabbit trails I can run down. As Easter approaches, I slow down and enter the garden to meet with God and invite Christ to speak to me. I stop babbling needs and requests and instead enter a space of worship, gratitude, and peace. I know it is the battle of my will. It is the choice to lay down control of my time and instead fully embrace the invitation for time and fellowship with Jesus.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” – Psalm 23: 1-3
