The Garden                  
by Debbie Wilcox

Imagine, if you will, a garden:  not a “garden” as in a little patch of flowers in somebody’s yard.  Instead, imagine majestic snow-capped mountains, thick green forests, lush rolling hills, valleys with the morning mist still clinging to the ground, waterfalls cascading into terraced pools, bubbling brooks with sunlight dancing on the water, soft mosses, sweet grasses, and flowers beyond measure.  Imagine the fragrance of those flowers carried on cool, soft breezes. Feel the warmth of the sun on your face.  See the clear, blue skies dotted with puffy, white clouds.
Take off your shoes and walk in the wonder of it all.  The thick grass softly cushions your feet.  Ouch! Come back to reality for a moment.  There are sticks and rocks on the ground.  Maybe you should put your shoes back on.
Continue down the hill past the orchard with its fruit trees laden with ripening fruit.  As you pass, you pluck a piece of fruit ready to savor its delicious freshness.  But wait!  It is full of worms!  They all are.  No fruit today.
You move on.  The pools of water look so inviting.  The sun is getting a little warm.  Perhaps a cool drink will ease your budding thirst.  Unfortunately, as you near the pools, you can see that they are not as clear as they once seemed to be.  Looking closer, you can see that the sunlight dancing on the water is actually the sun reflecting off the glass bottles, tin cans and other junk choking the life out of the fish and plants in the streams.  No water today.
The sun is nearly overhead.  It might be a good idea to find some shade and rest a bit.  You can see the forest in the distance.  There is plenty of shade there.  You will just need to go through the field. 
Let’s say you go that way.  After all, we are just imagining here.  The fields appear so beautiful.  Tall grasses and flowers swaying in the breeze like the waves of a multi-colored sea.  You wade in relishing the sweet aroma.  Hey! This is not as easy as you thought.  Hidden beneath those fragrant flowers lurk stems full of thorns and brambles that tear at your clothing and flesh.  And that grass that looked so lush from afar is razor sharp up close.  You cannot stop now, though.  The sun is directly overhead.  You must get to the shade.  Perhaps you should try the valley.  It should be cooler there.
Ok.  You turn and fight your way out of the fields and head toward the valley.  You must be thinking that it is a good thing that the valley is not much farther away.  That sun is really starting to beat down on you.
At last!  You have made it to the edge of the valley.  What is that smell?  Take a closer look around you.  That is not a mist clinging to the ground.  It is smoke!  You cannot go in there.  You need shade, but you need to breathe even more.
You turn around to go back towards the forest.  Sweat is now pouring down your face and into your eyes.  Swatting at the biting gnats, you stumble and fall.  A shadow falls across you blotting out the blinding sun.  You look up and a figure stands before you with His hand outstretched.  He says, “It will be ok.  You just took the wrong path.  Take my hand.  I will show you the way.  If you are weary, you can lean on Me.  When you think you cannot go another step, I will carry you.   I really want you to see what is over the last hill.  It is my Father’s garden.  We call it Heaven, and We have prepared a place just for you.”
You do not have to pretend any longer.  We are in the garden with all of its pitfalls and dangers.  It is our world.  Because of sin, the devil has distorted the garden. What appears to be beautiful at a distance is, upon closer inspection, revealed to be distorted and ugly.  The good news is that the garden called “Heaven” is just as real.  The figure with His hand outstretched is also real.  His name is Jesus Christ, and He is waiting for you to take His hand.  He will show you the way.  He will carry your burdens, or when necessary, He will carry you.  Take His hand.

Ladies, when you feel like a part of you is missing because your husband has left you, take His hand.  When you don’t know where you will find food for your next meal, take His hand.  When you feel that the trails of this life are going to overcome you, take His hand.  Jesus Himself tells us in John 10:27-30:  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are one.”  He is our all powerful, ever loving God.  Take His hand.