“I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.”**

 

The early season snow fell steadily to the ground in the week prior to our Thanksgiving holiday.  It blanketed the bare limbs of the trees and covered the brown, dry leaves on the ground.  The air was frigid and while festive melodies were playing all around me and thoughts were turning towards the upcoming holiday season, the only words that were singing in the quiet of my heart were from the old hymn, In the Garden.

Not exactly a fitting song for the season.

Yet, a most fitting song for this season of life.

I started writing this post a few weeks ago but had not been able to get any farther than this point.

Finding and writing the right words to convey the beauty, sorrow, and importance of the lessons in this season of life, while still in the trenches, is challenging; However, I long to do so in an effort not to lose a single drop of wisdom and insight gleaned.

These lessons are hard … these Lessons in the Garden, as I have been calling them.

There is considerable wisdom and insight to be learned in silence and solitude and, in fact, these are among the topics upon which my thoughts and study have been dwelling. Allowing oneself to be drawn into a place of quiet, where one only listens to the voice of the Creator God and develops the discipline of cultivating a deeper relationship with Him.  It is in this place that peace and trust are often developed to new depths.

Sometimes it can be a fragile, rather timorous peace for the one who does not understand the purpose of the lessons but who trusts completely in the One who guides her.

Kenneth Boa, in his book, Conformed to His Image, describes solitude as a most important spiritual discipline.  He writes,

“Solitude is the most fundamental of the disciplines in that it moves us away, for a time, from the lures and aspirations of the world into the presences of the Father.  In solitude, we remove ourselves from the influence of our peers and society and find solace in anonymity.  In this cloister we discover a place of strength, dependence, reflection, and renewal, and we confront inner patterns and forces that are alien to the life of Christ within us.

Silence is a catalyst of solitude; It prepares the way for inner seclusion and enables us to listen to the quiet voice of the Spirit.”
(Conformed to His Image p.83)

“He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing;
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.”

It can be a temptation to attempt to fill these times of silence with distraction and noise, especially the noise of one’s own self trying to tell God what she thinks He should do in her difficulty and heartache. We can be alone with God but not listen –instead, we try to out-talk him.  Perhaps we think we know better than He or perhaps we are simply afraid of what He might say.  We may seek counsel and advice from well-meaning friends or even a Godly counselor, and while this certainly can be valuable, sometimes, to learn and apply the wisdom of the Holy One, we have to learn to walk in silence as He alone speaks.

I believe there is beauty to be found as one walks alone with the Savior.

There is abiding strength as His presence guides through the challenges of the day.  There is wisdom as His quiet voice whispers instruction while parenting and loving others through tremendous challenges.  There is courage as He helps us face the next moment even though the soul cries out that it cannot possible face one more day or one more battle.  There is grace as His Spirit teaches us to sing a new song and trust Him even when the spirit is overwhelmed with sorrow.

“He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing;
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.”

In a world where silence and solitude almost seem to be feared, God is often pleased to draw us into these quiet places.  Even Jesus in the Scriptures often disappeared from the masses for quiet communion with the Father.  I find that it is in the silence that the voices of the world and people fade away and my hearing becomes more fine-tuned to the voice of my Shepherd.

I understand that for many, silence and solitude may be frightening prospects because there is a great tendency to find our identity in our productivity and what others think of us.  When we step into a season where our trials become increasingly heavy, outward productivity becomes more limited, or perhaps the circle of influence around us dwindles, we often find ourselves at a loss and desperately seeking some way to generate activity and worth.

However, it is when we walk alone with God that we find the true source of our identity.

It is when we walk alone with God, we discover the strength to continue on a journey that often seems endless.

It is when we walk alone with God, we find the peace that passes any possible understanding.

It is when we walk alone with God, we often learn the lessons we need the most.

 “I’d stay in the garden with Him
Tho’ the night around me be falling;
But He bids me go; thro’ the voice of woe,
His voice to me is calling…

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.”

 

This post is lacking because the words inside are still not fully free to be written, but I share what little I have for my sisters who also find themselves in extended seasons of difficulty or heartache.  We will not find an easy button in this life but we will find what we need to face each moment as we fix our eyes on the Savior.

Walk in the garden with Him … especially in the depths of your winter season.

 

“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone.”
Psalm 62:5

 

**In the Garden written by C. Austin Miles (1913)