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I’ve often thought about enrolling in a Master Gardener program to learn as much as I can about plants. I love to look at leaves and flowers, stems and colors.
I remember a trip to Costa Rica when we visited a cloud forest. It is what it sounds like: a forest enveloped in clouds. The vegetation was incredibly lush and vibrant, nourished by the mist. The moisture gave those plants just what they needed to thrive. The colors, blooms, and leaf sizes kept me gazing in wonder. Life was in abundance.
God Plants a Garden
As I mentioned in last week’s blog, Genesis 2:8 says the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, a name associated with delight. The Amplified Bible describes the garden beautifully: an “oasis” and a “delight, land of happiness.” And verse 9 describes how God made trees grow that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.
God’s garden is not only beautiful; it’s satisfying.
Earlier in the narrative, we learn that God had not yet sent rain upon the earth, a detail that caught my attention. Instead, water rose from the ground and watered its surface (Genesis 2:5–6). Later, in verse 10, we read that a river watered the garden. I love these details. God not only creates beauty; He also provides exactly what it needs to sustain it!
Tending the Garden
Gardens need caretakers to thrive. A good gardener walks the land often, noticing what is growing and what needs care. The gardener tills the soil, clears stones, adds nutrients where they lack, and watches for pests and other threats.
When the soil is prepared, the gardener plants seeds and waits. But the waiting is still active and full of care as the gardener waters, watches, and tends the small signs of life as they break through the soil.
A cultivated garden reflects patience.
Tending Our Hearts
Our hearts are a lot like gardens. They need care. They can be tender and vulnerable, or hardened in places by what we have experienced. Some things grow that we barely notice, and others we have longed to see bloom.
The Garden of the Heart is a secret place that helps us explore our interior lives with the Lord. It is a sacred space where we pray, we meet with Him, build deeper friendship, learn who we are in Christ, and learn to abide. In this secret place, we often experience healing, encouragement, and the profound love of the Father.
A friend recently emailed me about God’s presence dwelling within us. He had been reading about St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, whose words speak beautifully to this mystery: “I have found my heaven on earth, since heaven is God, and God is in my soul.”
The fullness of heaven still awaits us, yet we can begin now to know and love the God who dwells within us. Through faith and grace, our encounter with the Lord becomes a foretaste of that communion, a taste of His perfect love.
Walking with the Master Gardener
Jesus knows every part of our interior garden. He invites us to walk with Him, to tend and cultivate our hearts with Him. He knows what needs nourishment, what needs healing, and where the soil needs to soften. We can invite Jesus into it all.
So much life is meant to grow within us. We do not have to tend this garden alone. As we spend time with the Lord in prayer, listen to His voice, and respond to His invitations, we become more receptive to His care. We begin to notice what He is nourishing and what He is asking us to surrender.
The image of the Lord walking in the garden in Genesis 3 stirs a deep longing in me to walk with Him, too. The Master Gardener knows what will help us grow. Our part is to accept the invitation into the Garden of the Heart, and to trust Him enough to receive His goodness.
A Return to the Garden
After the resurrection, Mary Magdalene stood near the empty tomb, weeping. When she turned and saw Jesus, she did not recognize Him. She thought He was the gardener. Then He spoke her name, “Mary!”
At once, Mary recognized her Lord (John 20:14–16). His voice was unmistakable. Mary knew, without a doubt, the sweet sound of Jesus.
Isn’t it beautiful that the first encounter with Jesus, after the crucifixion, takes place in a garden? It brings my thoughts back to Eden, where the story began. Here, in the garden of the empty tomb, grief gives way to joy, life defeats death, and Mary encounters the One she thought she had lost.
As I reflect on this scene, I think of Jesus as the gardener of our hearts. The risen Lord who called Mary by name knows each of us personally. He knows your name, dear reader. And He knows what is living within your heart, what has been wounded, what needs healing, and what is waiting to grow.
He invites us to walk with Him in the Garden of our Hearts. We can bring Him the places that are flourishing and the places we have neglected. He can help us recognize what hurts and what frightens us, and He shows us where new life is beginning.
I think again of that cloud forest and the mist that nourished so much beauty. What might grow within as the Lord’s grace nourishes your heart? Remember, it delights Him to be with us!
The Journey
All journeys need a starting point.
Take a few quiet minutes this week to turn toward Jesus. Ask Him to help you become aware of His presence within you.
Ask Him to reveal your heart to you in new ways, or to show you the door to the Garden of your Heart.
What part of your heart needs His care today?
