In the Garden

     My grandfather's favorite hymn was "In the Garden".  We don't tend to sing the old hymns in church anymore, even though they've brought such comfort to so many over the centuries.  We have relegated alot of worship to only choruses.  In the Garden was not a high, holy or grandiose type of song, but rather a simple one.  It conveyed true intimacy with God.  I think that is why Gran like it so much.
          " 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\
          No other, has ever, known."
     The Bible shares with us that it all started in a garden.  If we read it through we find that in some ways, it also ends in a garden type setting.  I could easily envision something like an unending panorama of Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon,  Zion, California-Hawaiian shoreline that seemingly goes on..forever.  Wow, that's someplace where everyone should desire to end up someday!
     Yet sadly, something went horribly wrong in that original once beautiful garden.  Eden was a place where God would walk with man (Adam), and talk with man, and tell him that he was His own.  The joy that they shared as they tarried there none other has ever known, except for Jesus.  What a shame.
     Yet, that is what God still wants so desperately from us, that lost intimacy.  He wants us back, and so He Himself provided the way home.  You can almost imagine the parable of the Prodigal Son coming to life as you ponder those thoughts.
     It is within that one on one intimacy, and sharing that we can begin to soak in the River of Life.  We regain a heavenly prospective of our lives, and the world around us.  The written word becomes a living word, with a life of it's own, that seemingly makes the ink almost leap off the page and into our hearts.  We cannot really find this sort of life in religion or religious obligations.  As it has been said, truth is not a teaching, it's a person.   Our beginning, and our end must find ourselves back in the garden.  The truth is our pathway,and He is Jesus.
     When I muse on that song, as I do from time to time.  I find myself wanting to be there..sharing..talking..full of the joy of His presence.  Yes, perhaps it can be a bit of fanciful escapism for the uninitiated.  But, for those who know the living personal God, it is a true place of rest and refreshing. 
     Regardless of whether or not we acknowledge the fact, we all require intimacy to function as  healthy and whole human beings.  So who better to fellowship with than your Creator?  So, whether we find ourselves alittle or maybe even a lot out of kilter on the road of life; I would encourage you with these words.  Take the time to come to the Garden, He's waiting to talk with you.