Working in my flower gardens is one of my favorite delights. I love to watch them change from mere soil into beds filled with beautiful flowers. I believe that the Lord is the Master Gardener. He delights in transforming dry, dead, dismal gardens into works of art.

The Lord frequently speaks to me through prophetic pictures and many years ago He showed me that I was like a lifeless, desolate garden. His picture was not pretty.

In the Lord’s picture I opened a garden gate expecting to find a beautiful garden, but instead what He showed me was a brown, dried up, dead enclosed garden that did not have even one sprig of green. I was not instantly encouraged by the Lord’s picture!

However, what He then promised me was that He would change my garden, in His time, and it would become a beautiful, peaceful, restful refuge. I would love to say that my garden immediately grew by leaps and bounds, but that would not be true.

Over time, as I have allowed the Lord to heal areas of deep hurt and woundedness in my life, my garden has gradually been transformed. First, it was one lone flower in the midst of ruin and then He added another and another.

The Lord delights in bringing life from death and beauty from ashes. He knows exactly what part of the garden needs extra care, the perfect time to plant and when to water. He is aware of the smallest most intimate details in our lives.

If we let Him, He will dig around the roots to remove our weeds. He will painstakingly water, weed, transplant and care for our garden. He delights in transforming the hopelessly ugly into masterpieces of beauty. All of this takes time. The resulting transformation is worth both the pain and the effort.

For me there is nothing more refreshing than sitting in one of the chairs outside by the garden and enjoying the garden’s beauty, solitude and serenity. I am sure that the Lord feels the same way when He sits in the exquisite gardens that we have become. We truly are His garden of delight.

~ Marianne