Last year was one of the hardest and sweetest years of my life. It was a mingling of loss and pleasures. There were such high highs. At moments, it felt like I was flying on wings. Conversely, the lows were devastating. Death, goodbyes, and broken relationships filled the valleys of the year.

It’s in the roller coaster seasons that the anchors in your life are tested. And boy, were mine tested. You see, where we choose to spend our time really does matter. Because the storms will come. The sunsets after may be glorious, but the storms that come before can be catastrophic. I learned that some things are not worth tethering my heart to.

In April, we laid to rest our newest family member. In grief, I cried out to the Lord, my heart broken and longing for something deeper. I wanted more of the Lord but was unsure of what that meant or how to do that. At the time, I had been reading passages of lament and realized that these prophets were not merely mouthpieces of God, but there was a deeper connection, a communion. There was a calm and assurance in spite of the storms.

One morning, as I spent those quiet first moments of the day in my favorite chair, bible open in my lap, I asked the Lord if I could be friends with him. I wanted more than just a pursuit of knowledge. That version of a relationship was not fully satisfying in the storm. Let me pause here and clarify. Jesus himself was so very sweet, near and dear during that particular season of grief. However, the depth of my knowing him, of communion, was lacking. That was not on him, but on me, on my limited understanding of what it meant to be in relation with God.

Later that week, as I watched the sunrise from my favorite perch, coffee steaming in my hand, Bible weighing in my lap, a small voice whispered in my mind, “Come out to the garden. Walk in the cool of the day with me.”

I paused, knowing the Lord’s call, hesitating in my sluggishness to understand.

“Like, right now?”

“Yes!”

Scrambling, I closed my Bible, set down my coffee, and opened the French door to my backyard and tiny garden. I padded my way over to a patio chair and sat down. The sun was just starting to crest the horizon, coloring the sky with pinks and purples and the leaves in orange. The world was aglow in hopeful expectation. One by one, the birds sang, their chirps weaving together into the symphony of the morning. Spectacular does not even describe the moment.

It was an ordinary morning at the beginning of the summer. A normal sunrise and the earth doing what it always does. But the Lord had invited me to see with new eyes the grandeur of each morning. And so began the birth of a new habit. Walking with God in the cool of the day.

Every morning that summer, I clawed my way out of bed, stumbled over to my coffee maker and then favorite chair, spent time reading the word and praying over my friends and family, and then He would call me out into my tiny garden. It was in the safe confines of my small backyard garden that I learned to not just talk at or to the Lord but to listen. I learned to pay attention to the Holy Spirit’s whispers in my heart and mind.

Meanwhile, the Lord showed me the wonders of creation. He taught me that our world is filled with visual metaphors of deep truths, truths that we read about in scripture. It was in the garden that I learned to actually care for plants- watering them daily, feeding them with fertilizer, and pruning when needed. He showed me how beautiful a garden can become when it is properly cultivated. He taught me that people are like plants and people clusters are like Gardens. God plants people in groups for their good and glory, for his glory and honor.

Like plants in a garden, cultivated people thrive and reach their full potential. The gardener, in wisdom and goodness, plants, cares for and prunes with the intention of full glory for each plant. A good gardener does all for the good of the plant and the garden. And it is this careful attention that develops into beauty and function. This is what God wants to do for us. He has planted us (if we are indeed his and have chosen to follow him) in his garden for our benefit and his glory.

The world yells at us, screams at us, tries to drag us to its deception of “flourishing.” If you have anchored your heart in those lies, you know, as I do, that the illusion is just a mirage that evaporates when things get hard. Psalm 107:4 says, “Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in, hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.” This is the world’s “prescription” for flourishing- empty promises.

Oh, friend, read with me a bit more.

“Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

And he delivered them from their distress.

He led them by a straight way

Till they reached a city to dwell in.

Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,

For his wondrous works to the children of man!

For he satisfies the longing soul,

And the hungry soul he fills with good things.” (Psalm 107:4-9 ESV)

Dear friend. The world tells you that burnout is all-consuming, inescapable. Then, the world promises to show you the way of flourishing. But the way of the world robs mankind of purpose and joy while seducing you to a path of destruction. Come, instead, to God’s garden. The valley of flourishing and life. Where peaceful waters revive and his word feeds. Walk with him in that cool, secret place. Let your love grow with each step. Flourish under his care. Flourish his way.

Do you long for more? For richer communion? For friendship? Do you long for his deep to call your deep? This week, start a new page. It is a new year, after all! This year, this week, today, ask God for friendship; ask him for communion. Because, guess what? There is no facet of himself he will keep from you if you want him.

Do you want love? Prepare to drown in it, float in it, live in it. Do you long for deep companionship? He is the friend who will never leave. Do you long to be seen? He sees you and will satisfy you fully while blowing your mind with his glory. Do you long for adventure? Get ready to see the impossible! Do you want to know and understand? He will unlock the mysteries of your heart, his character, and his creation to you!

How can I convince you, dear reader, that there is no greater pleasure to be had apart from that first step into his garden? You will never plumb the depths of the riches of knowing the Lord intimately. With him are treasures forevermore.

The Path of Flourishing

Abide and Flourish

Rest and Peace in Scripture