“YOU ARE nearer God’s heart in the garden than anywhere else on earth,” My granny used to say.
My twin brother and I grew up in a top-floor flat.
Every summer holiday we visited our grandmother and great-aunt, who lived next door to each other.
Both had a garden in which to play.
Looking back, they seemed like gardens of endless summers, a rusty red swing, the scent of sweet peas, and loving grown-ups waving from the windows.
I wonder if you are a gardener?
Do you grow herbs on a windowsill, or have a larger patch to tend?
This hot weather has been a challenge; watering early morning and late evening, but there is a rhythm to it, and each season calls for our attention.
We must be patient, waiting and hoping that what we have planted will come to fruition; tending it and allowing some parts to grow more freely.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control are qualities that find their echo in the garden.
In the Bible these are fruits of God’s spirit.
Jesus’ friend Mary Magdalene meets the risen Jesus in a garden, at first thinking he is the gardener.
Imagining Jesus as a gardener can be helpful, for he delights in us and our flourishing.
Next time you are in a garden, rest there for a while, and talk to Jesus.
He has come to give us life in all its fulness (John 10:10).
Rev Anthea platt is Associate Priest at All Saints Church, which meets on Sundays at: 9.30am.
For information, visit: allsaintswokingham.org.uk
