Where’s Your Garden?

I am a very routine kind of girl.  I love lists, and I love to have structure in my everyday life.  However, I know there are days that will happen to throw my days off, and when that happens, I do my best to adapt.  Yet, knowing exactly what is going to happen within my day truly helps with my peace of mind. 

During the school season, my alarm goes off quietly (very quietly so as not to wake up the dog) at 4:30 a.m. I lay there for about five minutes, trying to come fully awake. I gently get out of bed so I don’t disturb my husband, grab my clothes hanging on the back of my bathroom door, and walk into our bathroom to get ready.   

After getting ready, I head out of the bedroom, and I am greeted by our little yorkie. I let him outside and begin making breakfast for myself: bacon,eggs, and toast.  Thankfully, I set the coffee to brew at 4:40 a.m., so it is ready for me as soon as my breakfast is ready.  By 4:50, I am sitting at the table with my coffee, breakfast, and my phone.  I open my Bible app and begin to read.  Some mornings it’s random, and other mornings it is directed to whatever I might be going through at the time.  The point is that I am sitting there in peace and quiet, reading the Word, praying, and listening to see what God wants to say to me.  There is no intense prayer meeting.  Just simple peace and quiet. 

I like to think that the Lord is sitting with me and enjoying a cup of coffee as well. 

I usually have twenty minutes to myself before my husband comes in.  Or if he decides to stay home that day, I will get at least thirty minutes before I have to go and wake up the kids.  It gives me a chance to breathe.  It gives me a chance to let the Lord know that I am going to need Him throughout the day.  It gives me a chance to just listen and hear what He has for me.  Plus, there have been times the Lord has used this opportunity to speak to me about the kids in the school, or about people in our church, or even about friends, pastor’s wives, or evangelist wives. 

It’s just a time of peace. 

Don’t get me wrong; you need time to have moments of intense prayer with God.  However, that’s not always going to be the case.  Sometimes you need the peace and quiet to just sit and listen to His voice.  You need that time to soak up the strength He wants to give you to help you make it through the day. 

Listen, I am an advocate for sleep!  I may not always get to do as much of it as I would like, but I definitely promote it.  Your body and mind both work better with proper amounts of sleep.  According to John Hopkins Medicine, 

“First, a healthy amount of sleep is vital for “brain plasticity,” or the brain’s ability to adapt to input.  If we sleep too little, we become unable to process what we’ve learned during the day, and we have more trouble remembering it in the future.  Sleep is vital to the rest of the body too.  When people don’t get enough sleep, their health risks rise.  Symptoms of depression, seizures, high blood pressure, and migraines worsen.  Immunity is compromised, increasing the likelihood of illness and infection.  Sleep also plays a role in metabolism. Even one night of missed sleep can create a prediabetic state in an otherwise healthy person.” 

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-science-of-sleep-understanding-what-happens-when-you-sleep

As you can see, sleep and rest are vital to the body.  Even God rested! 

"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made."  Genesis 2:2 KJV 

Yet, in saying all of this, my point is that since I know that I need to rest and sleep, I have to make an effort to go to bed early so that I can rise early and get my time of peace and quiet in with the Lord.  It would be very easy for me to just wait until 5:30 a.m. and rise, but getting up that extra hour and being alone makes all of the difference in my day. 

God desires to talk with us.  He proved that in the beginning when He created Adam and Eve.  He came to spend time walking and talking with them. On the day that Adam and Eve sinned, God came looking.  Adam and Eve weren’t there as they usually were. 

"And they hear the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" Genesis 3:8-9 KJV 

I don’t want God to have to come looking for me.  I want Him to know exactly where He can find me: in my garden, aka at my kitchen table at 4:30 in the morning.  I want Him to know that I am listening for His voice.   

Where’s your garden?   

Do you have a place you can go during your day to be still and listen for the voice of the Lord?  I know that life can get hard at times.  I know that with children, especially small ones, finding a place of peace and quiet is hard.  Yet, I also know that sometimes it takes an effort on our part. You have to find what works for you and your situation.  There have been times I just involved my kids in whatever I was doing in the moment.  It is a great idea for your kids to see or hear you pray. 

God knows your situation better than you do, AND He knows your heart. 

I will leave you with this story to prove that God knows our hearts better than we do.   

When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, everyone thought for sure it would be a boy.  I had always wanted a little girl, but I was willing to take whatever God had planned for me.  I was just so grateful that He had kept His promise of giving me a child.  We eventually found out it was a little girl, and I was so excited!  Then the day came for her to be born.  My daughter was born with red hair.  Neither my husband nor I have red hair.  I was so happy!  Little did anyone know, but secretly I always wanted a red-headed little girl.  I grew up with Anne of Green Gables and Orphan Annie.  I loved their hair.  God knew my heart better than I did, and when He gave me my miracle, He gave it to me better than I ever imagined. 

So, where’s your garden? 

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Psalm 42:1