Friday, April 6, 2012

An Evening Stroll to the Garden

I stepped out into the brisk air,
blankets draped over my arms.

I was headed for the blooming blueberry bushes.


Frost.

 I dreamed of getting blueberries off those bushes;
the blankets would need to cloak those blooms
and protect them from Old Man Winter's last few attempts to thwart the warming touch
of spring.


The full moon's light made seeing the steps to the blueberry bushes easy.

It's vibrance awakened the realization that tonight was the night.

Long ago,
in a garden like this,
the holy, only Son of Almighty God
knelt on the earth
in a garden.

He was tired, no doubt.
His disciples, hard-working men,
couldn't stay awake from their long days of walking.

But Jesus, having lived a carpenter's life,
the oldest half brother of many siblings,
knew the strains of this life were very small
and nearing completion
to the task at hand.


The Garden.

 Man's first view when God opened His eyes to life
was in a Garden.

Man rejected God in that Garden.

Perfection,
tossed away
like a trampled lily.


Jesus came to a garden in his final hours
his prayers so intense
blood-mingled sweat dripped from his pores.

He knew what was to come.

In the last night of his life He spent his final moments in that Garden
facing the great reality of his near future:
pain,

the intensity of it,
the anger of it's application,
the merciless affliction of sin's retribution.

In a garden where he knelt
amidst the quiet of the night
He did the only thing He could do to prepare for this unthinkable task.

He prayed.


The beauty of a Garden held the silent beauty of God,
the immeasurable love of the Creator.

But beyond the cross and the rejection,
first of mankind
and then of His own Father as He hung with the weight of the world's sin
on that lonely cross,
He saw the Golden glow of a sunrise on another Garden.


The Garden scene of sorrow
would be past.

"But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping:
and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
And seeth two angels in white sitting,
the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
And they say unto her,
Woman, why weepest thou?
She saith unto them,
Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
And when she had thus said, she turned herself back,
and saw Jesus standing,
 and knew not that it was Jesus.
Jesus saith unto her, 
Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?
She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him,
Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou has laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus saith unto her,
Mary.
She turned herself,
and saith unto him,
Rabboni;
which is to say,
Master."

John 20:11-16

In the sorrow of the night in the Garden of Preparation,
God planned for the victorious sunrise
of His Son's Conquering Love
 for those who will kneel in the Garden of His Salvation.


 As I straightened up from cloaking the blueberry bushes,
my misty eyes met the stars distant light
and I whispered,

"Thank you...

for the Garden."


Linking up with 
Thegypsymama.com: Five Minute Friday
(even though some occasions force the 5 minute limit,
just a bit. :) )


14 comments:

  1. "Man rejected God in that Garden." And yet, in another Garden, Christ committed his life to redeeming all that was lost in the original garden. No matter the cost to Himself. What an amazing God we serve.

    Beautiful post. Truly.

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  2. Beautiful words and pictures!

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  3. Oh so powerful. I've never made that garden connection before. Thank you.

    -Lisa-Jo

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  4. This blessed my heart Tonya...just beautiful! My prayer is you get a bountiful blueberry crop this year!

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  5. So Powerful, and beautifully written. Great Pictures. He is Risen !

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  6. Beautiful ! The best story ever !

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  7. So beautiful...and I love the picture on the deck...I just want to go shelter and then pick blueberries with you!

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  8. Oh my goodness what an awesome post! This is a message that should be remembered all year long and not just at Easter!

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  9. nice post thanks for sharing...looking for to visit more blessings...

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