Day 4
The Tender Gardener
God seems to have a thing for gardens. A garden is where it all started— a place of beauty and communion between Him and His children. The corruption that entered that innocent place had a devastating impact as the snake lied to the woman and for the first time, she experienced separation from her God. How beautiful and kind of God to choose a garden— thousands of years later— as the place where the redemption of the world would quietly begin. As He took His first breath after death, He came to another disillusioned woman in a garden, calling her by name and radiating His resurrection over her. It was as if He was saying to her: “Look what I’ve done! I’ve restored the garden! I’m making everything new. From the first garden until the end, I’m removing the pain, the stains, the distance. Come close— we never have to be apart again.”
The same God that orchestrated such a breathtaking story to redeem all things also takes the time to reach into our personal stories and restore the garden of our own hearts to be a place of communion with Him. A friend of mine once heard God say to her: “You are not a problem to be fixed, but a garden to be tended”. I find this thought so freeing— that God doesn’t relate to us begrudgingly, but with the same tender care as a gardener. It reminds me of what it says in Ephesians 5:25-30, that Jesus loves His bride by laying His life down for her, nourishing and cherishing her.
A gardener enjoys what He is doing; He engages the plants with gentleness because He longs to see them thrive and flourish. He also knows that a garden has many aspects to it— a variety of plants that need different things at different times. In the same way, He is attentive to the many nuances of our hearts, knowing exactly what each part needs at the right time.
Creative Prompt:
Let’s take this theme and invite Jesus into our imaginations as we explore more. Close your eyes and settle into Jesus’ presence. Say to Him: “Jesus, I let you see my heart. I let You in. I trust You to be my gardener”. Linger here for a moment, letting His love touch you as He sees everything and longs to meet you exactly where you’re at.
Now ask Him to show you the garden of your heart. Ask Him to show you a place in your garden that He really enjoys and wants to celebrate and affirm.
Let your imagination run free— what does this part of the garden look like? Specific flowers? A thriving tree? He may show you something visually or He may simply bring up a certain aspect of your life that He wants to speak a Father’s blessing over. Open your heart and let Him wash you with His words of truth and affirmation. If it helps, write out the words He says to you.
Next, ask Him to show you a place in your garden that seems dormant or barren. Let Him explain to you what this represents in your heart— maybe a place of pain or loss. As you trust His tender hand, let Him into this place and share your honest thoughts with Him as needed. Ask Him He wants to do in that place. Maybe He wants to fertilize or plant seeds, or just sit there with you and hold you. Whatever it is, ask Him how He wants to comfort or bring hope to this place in your heart.
Now for the creative part! Take some paint, markers, crayons, or colored pencils and create a picture of the places in your garden that He just showed you. Paint or draw the place that Jesus affirmed. Then paint or draw a picture of how the barren place feels. After it dries, add something to the image that shows the way God is bringing hope into that place.
Make this your own “visual journal” entry, maybe even writing the words He said around the picture. Get creative and use the picture you make as a way to participate with Him in prophesying life over your own heart. The process itself helps solidify the truth He spoke, making it more than an abstract thought and bringing it into something we physically work out with our hands.