Walks in the Garden

Awakened from a short night's sleep by a massive branch falling from an ancient live oak, with work boots and leather gloves on, the chainsaw's roar pierced the silence of the still sleeping world.

Amidst the raucous rattle, I found a certain peace in my soul. All the noise that once seemed so important faded into the background of the task at hand. As the chainsaw paused, I found myself in a moment reminiscent of Genesis, hearing the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.

Time seemed to stand still as I walked and talked with God, realizing that all my worries were insignificant in the light of eternity. It took a mighty branch crashing down to turn my eyes back to Jesus.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Awakened from a short night's sleep by a massive branch falling from an ancient live oak,
a leisurely morning making my wife breakfast quickly changed to work boots and
leather gloves, a chainsaw piercing the silence of the still sleeping world.
Amidst the raucous rattle, I discovered a certain peace in my soul,

(00:23):
and all the noise that once seemed so important faded into the background of the task at hand.
As the chainsaw took its inevitable pause, I glanced at busted knuckles covered in oily sawdust.
I could hear my father say, If you were just a bit more patient,

(00:44):
that might not have happened.
Yeah, just as if he was still here on this side of heaven.
Grabbing a piece of shade to escape the oppressive 100-degree heat,
I heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden,
in the cool of the day, as it says in Genesis.

(01:05):
It seemed time stood still, and maybe it did.
We're the only creatures whose lives are measured in minutes,
yet time does not constrain the One who created it.
In that moment, we walked. We talked some. I listened more.
It turns out all my worries are insignificant in the light of eternity.

(01:28):
In focusing only on the next step, I lost sight of direction, His direction.
It took a mighty branch crashing down to turn my eyes to Jesus again.
As the 18-year-old in me went to take a nap, the slightly older version of myself
remain to do all the work. Some things never change.

(01:53):
During one pause, my wife asked if the chainsaw was broken again.
Nope. Just aching knees and shoulders, not to mention my heart.
Let's just say we took a few more walks in the garden that day.
I should do it more often, for God is always there, waiting.

(02:14):
And now, the unravel.
Larnell Harris recorded a song back in the 80s that was called I Miss My Time With You.
It goes, There he was just waiting in an old familiar place,
an empty spot beside him where once I used to wait, to be filled with strength

(02:37):
and wisdom for the battle of the day, I would have passed him by again.
But I clearly heard him say, I miss my time with you.
That is what God wants, is his time with you. Be blessed today.