in the garden

I was doing one of my class assignments last week. We had been asked to select a song from a song list and answer questions about different things written within the song. I already was picking out a certain song that I was wanting to use, but when I clicked on the song list that was provided........they were all hymns. I won't use the word "old" because I don't like to hear that word so much myself. There were seven hymns to choose from. They were "Holy, holy, holy"; "When I Survey"; "Be Thou My Vision"; "Whiter Than Snow"; "Throw Out The Lifeline"; "Bringing In The Sheaves"; "In The Garden". Not your CCLI Top 25, but that last one.... "In The Garden" has always had a special place in my heart.

Every time that I hear it sung, I can't help but think of my mother-in-law. She loved this song. If there was a Sunday night with a "Hymn sing", she would always request it. Why? I was never really sure, but I think her mother loved the song as well. If I had to guess, I'd say that maybe the imagery of spending time in the garden with Jesus is a lot like spending time in the garden with a dear friend. You would talk, laugh, share stories and remember whens. It may be hard for some people to understand how special that time in the garden really is.

Both of my grandfathers had gardens, and they worked in them all the time. Growing up, I looked forward to be out in the garden with them. (It was a good excuse for coming home covered in dirt) Those days of planting corn, peas, okra..... My favorite was planting potatoes. I mean, you had to get down on your hands and knees to do this. Papaw would drop the sliced up potato in the row, and my job was to make sure that was turned the right way. Not sure if it really mattered to the potato, but I got to get down on my hands and knees and just crawl along and cover the sliced potato with the dirt. Good stuff. We'd get through and sit under a shade tree and drink a Coke. He'd give me 25 cents, help brush most of the dirt off of my jeans, and I'd head home.....a farmer. I learned a lot from my Papaw in the garden. Hard work doesn't kill ya'. The job isn't done until you finish.

Sometimes the work in the garden took quite a while, and as I got older I didn't look forward to it as much. It wasn't smething that I wanted to do. Now, I hear this song.....

"And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known"

Looking back...I wish I had "tarried" a little longer in my time with my Papaw. When it comes to our time with Jesus........in our garden........ how long have we tarried there?

soaked

Last week I went to Niagara Falls with Karen. We went to the Canadian side. Okay, there were 22 other people with us on this trip. But still.....to me, it was a trip to Niagara Falls with Karen.

I had heard people talk about going to Niagara Falls, and I had seen countless pictures, but I was overwhelmed by the shear power of seeing the Falls and listening to the majestic roar. This was incredible! Karen and I would just stand there and look at the Falls. Of course, we took pictures and videotaped the whole thing, but just to stand there and look and listen...we never tired of doing that. We spent a lot of time at the Falls. We went down an elevator and walked out on a platform at the base of the Falls. The sound was deafening and exciting. We even went down through some tunnels to get in behind the falls. You could get within feet of the rushing wall of water. As crazy as it may sound, we got on a boat (The Maid of the Mist) and rode it right up to the Falls. You couldn't hear the sound of the boat's engines.....just the roar of the Falls. The force of the water crashing down from about 200 feet made for a very bumpy ride. And yes, we were soaked. This was an amazing adventure. Would I go back? Oh, yes.

I happened to be thinking about that trip this evening and I was remembering how awestruck I was at the sight and sound of the Falls, and I couldn't help but wonder if I would react the same way in God's presence. Would I make an extra effort to get even closer to Him? Would I find a way to try and reach out to feel Him? Would the force and power of His majesty keep me back, or would I surge through the turbulent waters to get as close as I could, to be soaked by His love for me?

Everyday, we are given another opportunity to draw closer to God; another chance to reach out and take hold of His hand as He guides us through life; another chance to know His love when everything is crashing down around us. Do we just look at pictures, or listen to others talk about God? Or, do we make the effort to get to where we can feel His majesty and be soaked by His love for us?