God intentionally planted a garden with trees and shrubs to not only provide delicious fruit but to create a beautiful space for man to enjoy and be present with Him. Shouldn’t we cultivate that same Garden of Eden experience when we are outside in His creation?
Ever since I was a very little girl, I have loved the outdoors. I would get up at sunrise and sit by our picture window to watch the birds in the front yard. Not your typical child who otherwise would be itching to turn on the TV to watch cartoons. Yes, I’m dating myself here. Lol. My mom said that when she would send me off to school, she would watch from the door and notice that I was the only one looking up at the sky or at the squirrels or the birds while my friends were busy with their book bags or just looking straight ahead as they walked. One winter, the ground covered in snow, I pulled my sled up underneath my neighbor's pine tree, lay down on the sled with the sun warming my face, and just listened to the wind whistling through the pine tree. I’m pretty sure I had brought my hyacinth bulb with me, which I was excitedly anticipating bursting forth in bloom.
My love for the outdoors continued as my dad always brought us to hike in the woods every weekend. He used to say it was “his church,” but back then ,I didn’t understand what he meant. As an adult, though, I get where he was coming from…
From Genesis to Revelation, God’s perfect design features gardens and rivers, which He made for us to enjoy (Genesis 2:4-10, Revelation 22:1-5). A beautiful revelation of the God we serve, who desires His children to enjoy beauty and rest in His stunning creation. But do we?
I confess that I saw a shift in myself concerning my fascination with God’s creation when I got my first iPhone. Suddenly, I was connected to the world in real time, and everyone needed my attention whether through text, call, email, or my own fear of missing out. Instead of sitting in my backyard watching the birds, listening to bird songs, and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face and the gentle breeze, I was sitting on my phone wondering why I felt more anxious and agitated.
During the COVID lockdown, I reconnected with my childhood self and became very intentional about being present in God’s creation, observing with wonder, and enjoying every bit of it. These practices helped to regulate my nervous system and filled me with an overall sense of contentment, joy, peace, and a very real sense of the presence of God. My own Garden of Eden, if you will.
Leave Your Troubles at the Garden Gate
I have made it a practice not to take my troubles with me when I go for walks in nature. My husband and I frequent a local boardwalk that meanders through swampy woods. There is a gate at the beginning, and I always consciously tell myself, "Leave your problems at the gate." My husband can tell you I am an enforcer when it comes to this practice. Lol.
As we saw in our passage from Genesis, God intentionally planted a garden with trees and shrubs to not only provide delicious fruit but to create a beautiful space for man to enjoy and be present with Him. Shouldn’t we cultivate that same Garden of Eden experience when we are outside in His creation? Although man fell in the garden and sin entered the world, in God’s mercy, He has still provided beautiful flora and fauna for us to enjoy. Not only that, but there is scientific evidence regarding the positive effects on our nervous system of being in nature. How much more when we intentionally focus on the presence of God in His creation?
May we all leave our troubles at the garden gate and take a cue from C. Austin Miles' hymn “In the Garden”:
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.
Refrain:
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.
Viewing God’s Creation with Childlike Wonder
In these last few years, I am viewing God’s creation with the childlike wonder I once had. Walking the boardwalk I spoke about earlier, my husband and I witness every season. It is so interesting to make observations about God’s creation and how it changes throughout the seasons. The more we take in and discover, the more we learn about our amazing Creator. It’s similar to reading the Bible. How many of us have said, “Wow, was that always written there?” We are always discovering new and wonderful things about God. It is the same way when we view God’s creation with childlike wonder.
Not only that, but we learn so much about our Heavenly Father. Matthew 6:26-30 says, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?”
There are many passages where the Lord teaches us lessons through His creation. The next time you enjoy nature, cultivate your own Garden of Eden by looking at creation through the lens of childlike wonder. You will be amazed!
Soak Up Joy with Your Surroundings
I have noticed as I am getting older that walking outside gives me a dopamine boost like no other. Oftentimes, I realize I am smiling as I am walking, soaking up with joy my surroundings and thanking God for the beauty of His creation. Maybe I don’t take for granted that there are some who are my age who might not be able to be as active as I am and have the privilege of walking outside…
Let’s talk about those who can’t go for a walk in the woods or physically get outside. There are still ways to soak up the joy of your surroundings in creation. If you are blessed with a backyard, there is a whole habitat of God’s creation to explore, even if it’s just a postage stamp-sized area. Visiting an indoor botanical garden is an option. If you are homebound, sitting by an open window in the summer listening to the birds and feeling the breeze on your face will boost your spirits, or in the winter, soaking up the sun by a window.
You could pot plants in your home, feeling the dirt sift through your hands, anticipating the new growth. Something my dad does, as he is not able to hike anymore, is watch YouTube videos of people hiking the Appalachian Trail. Maybe you were an avid gardener. You could watch videos of people in their gardens. Some people listen to soundtracks of birds calling or crickets chirping. All you have to do is close your eyes and imagine you are outside experiencing God’s creation in real time. By putting these things into practice, you will experience joy in the moment and sense God’s presence as you cultivate your own Garden of Eden, even if your ability to get out is limited.
One thing that is true of all believers is the joy we will experience in Paradise one day when we will be inside the majesty of Heaven’s gates with Jesus. Oh, what a day that will be!
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