“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…” -Genesis 1:1
I’m sure we probably know where that goes and whether your beliefs align with the Bible or not, here we are in a marvelous yet terrible world. In one day we can see sunrises paint the sky and tears paint faces. I have learned a lot this year about the very different lives people lead across the world, yet see the same wonder and hope for more, for Good things in the world and in each other.
I often wonder of the splendor of the earth before the fall. I get lost in my own head dreaming of the beauty, peace, and harmony of the world before sin creeped and crawled its way into and around everything.
When I see the ocean shores I see them free of litter and teeming with life. When I look at cliffs with fallen boulders I imagine the grandeur of their steep faces before erosion and pollution caused them to crumble. When I see the smile of a child I see innocence as well as joy rooted in the knowledge that they are loved and cared for. When I see headlines on the news I imagine a world where people are kind, genuinely kind and neighborly. What a world that would be. When I look at the world I hope to see things as they were intended to be, free from the grasp of sin. A world where we are still dwelling in the Garden of Eden. A world where we get to walk side by side with God in the cool of the day.
Now, my month in Indonesia we lived in the mountains with a family that had a big organic garden filled with cocoa and coffee trees, fruit, vegetables, spices, and more. The garden was on the side in the mountain just steps away from the bungalows we were staying in. In those few short weeks I believe I got a glimpse of how it may have felt to walk in the Garden with God. I was reminded once again of the simplicity of just being with God. No overcomplicated to do or not to do lists, and no religious structure to adhere to, we just woke and walked together through my day and through that little garden on the mountain side. We worked, we played, we laughed, we learned, we listened, we were heard, and we dreamed of never having to leave the Garden.
I got to imagine and feel the sweetness of simply walking in the Garden with God. Crisp, quiet mornings followed by warm sunny afternoons and evenings where the sun shines oh so perfectly on the mountains and the trees. I will always remember the rain, the way it smelled in the air and sounded as I swayed in the hammock on the porch. Rain that provided rest, fostered community, and gave life to all in the garden, myself included. Life in the garden is life giving because the whole point of a Garden is to foster life and new growth.
As I walked down into the garden it only took a few stones steps for the rest of the world to fade behind me. It was just me, the trees, and my savior. As I would wander and weave my way through the trees I felt the serenity of solitude, but the comfort knowing I was not alone. I know there will forever be things that are unexplainable and one of those things is the way the Lord meets me in the Wild. I see and feel more clearly when I am in that still, green haven, maybe you understand. To me there is nothing quite like the way the sun shines through the leaves of the trees, 100 shades of green showing the paradox of the simplicity and complexity of His creation as well as the simplicity and complexity of the Gospel. You can see the leaf right there just as the gospel is pretty straight forward, but also as the light shifts you begin to notice the intricate details that went into the design just as you can hear the Gospel everyday for 100 years, yet Jesus can reveal more of Himself to you with a change in angle or light. It really is wild how God can use a leaf to tell me that much and as I see more of Him and the gospel through the trees, he showed me more of myself as I walked with the Him through the garden in that new light.
I’m not quite sure what the specific point of this blog is, but I just wanted to share a little of what my walk with the Lord looks like and what I am continuously learning it can look like. I hope this is encouraging and that perhaps you would like to take a walk with God through the garden, through reconciliation back to His heart. I hope you know that He loves you deeply and wants to show you all that you have access to in His Garden, access to love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control, and whatever it is you may or may not realize you need. Jesus is patiently waiting for you in the Garden, will you walk with Him?
