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What if the garden was not only for before the Fall? What if there is still a garden waiting to be discovered, a sacred place within us where we can dwell with the Lord?
In the Beginning, a Garden
Let’s go to the very beginning. Always a good place to start.
Genesis 2:8 tells us that the Lord God planted a garden in Eden and placed the man He had formed there.
A garden. A place of beauty and abundance. A dwelling place where His beloved creation could live in communion with its Creator.
Before shame and hiding entered the story, there was belonging. Adam and Eve knew life in perfect harmony with God. Sometimes I wonder what that must have been like, to stand in the fullness of His presence, to receive His love so freely, without the fear and doubt that so often cloud our hearts.
We know what happened next. But even after humanity was sent out of Eden, God’s desire to be with us did not end. As we read through the Old Testament, Yahweh longed to be with His people. And through Jesus, He opens the way for us to return to communion with Him.
And that brings me to another garden: the Garden of the Heart.
Every Garden Needs Tending
I love gardens and flowers. Whether I’m wandering through a meadow watching bees and butterflies flutter among the wildflowers, strolling through a carefully tended botanical garden, or browsing a flower shop, I’m drawn to them all: the colors, the textures, the petals, the leaves. Flowers capture my attention and invite me to linger.
I’ve gardened long enough to know that beautiful flowers take lots and lots of work, and nothing guarantees a good growing season. Some seasons are for abundance, a flush of blooms. Others are for quietly growing beneath the earth. Still others are for fighting off the elements. All seasons have their beauty and their challenges.
Gardens need water, light, and good soil for roots to grow. They need care and attention. And even with all our tending, much of what happens remains beyond our control. We can prepare the ground and water faithfully, but we cannot make a flower bloom.
A Spiritual Garden
I’ve begun to see my heart in much the same way, and ponder: what does the soil in my heart look like? What am I doing to nourish what is growing there? Some places within me hold beautiful things, while others might need attention. Still other places, where worries and distractions reside, might need a little decluttering. Some places are tender, and I would rather keep them hidden. And some places still wait for signs of life.
What would it look like to open our hearts to the Lord, allowing even the places we keep hidden to become places of encounter?
Our hearts long for intimacy, to be fully known, fully loved, and accepted. Yet we can spend so much time tending to everything around us that we give little attention to what is happening within us.
A Sacred Place Within
The Garden of the Heart is a way of prayer, of imagining an interior place to encounter the Lord. A sacred place where we can become quiet enough to attend to Him, to sit with Him. A place to walk and talk with Jesus, bringing Him our joys, our questions, our wounds, and the things we struggle to put into words.
St. Teresa of Ávila uses this imagery in her autobiography, describing the soul as a garden cultivated for the Lord’s delight. Did you catch that? The Lord delights to be with us in the garden! That is amazing! Prayer helps us to enter this sacred space, to tend our interior garden, the Garden of the Heart. And with God’s grace, revelation, healing, and growth are possible.
I love the thought that the Lord might take delight in the garden of my heart, even while parts remain overgrown, messy, and much is still developing. I don’t have to have it all together to open the door to the Garden of my Heart. He wants to come in any way.
We can begin by opening our hearts to Him just as we are. He meets us there with love, helping us recognize what needs tending and teaching us to receive what only He can give.
Perhaps hope can be planted where disappointment has settled. Maybe trust needs to take root where fear has crowded in. Perhaps something beautiful is growing beneath the surface, unseen for now.
This is an invitation to spend time with the Lord and allow that relationship to deepen, to discover, little by little, what it means to abide in the garden.
An Invitation to Enter
Over the coming weeks, I want to explore the Garden of the Heart and what it means to dwell with the Lord, listening, sharing, and learning to tend our hearts together.
So let’s try it.
Find a quiet moment. Close your eyes. Ask the Lord to show you the Garden of your Heart.
You may find an image comes to mind, or you may simply notice something in your heart you want to share with Him. Stay with Him, even if you have few words or no words.
Prayer is the entrance to the Garden of the Heart. Patience is the virtue. And surrender is the posture. Don’t be disappointed if nothing extraordinary happens. Spending time with the Lord, just pondering who He is, is extraordinary.
Keep showing up to pray. Persistence, perseverance, and patience are needed when we desire something beautiful.
Lord, help me discover the garden of my heart, the secret place where I can dwell with You. Meet me in the places that are flourishing and in those that need Your care. Teach me to remain with You and to receive Your love. Amen.
P.S. Music often helps me quiet my thoughts and prepare my heart for prayer. Here are a few favorites you might enjoy.
The More I Seek You by Gateway Worship
More by Red Rocks
Pursuit by Harvest
