My Secret Garden in Him

We have not had any more rain since that Saturday before our outdoor escapade in Stanley Park. Almost two weeks of gorgeous sunshine, and gradually warming temperatures. Yesterday, I even flaunted a fun skirt (a recent consignment shop find) and bare legs. But this morning I woke up to find a drizzle…and boy, was I excited! With a whole morning to spend indoors and half of The Secret Garden still to read for my class tonight, I couldn’t think of anything better than sitting by our rain-spotted window with a little fire for warmth and a hot cup of coffee and this delightful book. So, Cora went down for her nap at 10:00 and I poured my second cup of coffee (we make it half-caf so I allow myself two…wouldn’t want to wire the baby!) and got ready to curl up with my book. Now, I know that if I want to have quiet time alone with the Lord, especially on a Wednesday when I return late from class and am too tired to concentrate much and want to just chat and spend time with Dave, I must do it as soon as Cora goes down for her morning nap (if I try to get anything else done first, it never fails that she wakes up just as I sit down with my Bible. It’s simply a law that exists for all mothers.) But my book was calling to me. Really quickly before settling down, I checked my e-mail and Beth Moore’s blog. Now if there were anyone in this world with whom I could become close friends, I would choose Beth Moore. I love her rich insight into the Word, her intuitive and applicable teaching, her compassionate love for women, her makes-me-laugh-out-loud humor, and just her spunky, out-of-control wackiness. And this morning, she came through for me. She was so excited, so brimful of joy about some little thing the Lord had done for her, that I found myself getting so excited myself about Him!!! I put away the laptop and immediately grabbed up my Bible and worshipped this all-powerful, self-sacrificing, life-giving, sin-cleansing, attitude-adjusting, love-outpouring, love-inspiring Savior that I am so abundantly blessed to have daily access to! How could I want The Secret Garden over HIM???!!!

Now, it’s true that The Secret Garden, which I did have time to finish thanks to Cora's generous napping (and a prayer-answering God!), was also beautiful, enriching, and even attitude-adjusting as well. But that’s because it is an echo of the same themes that God’s Word is chock full of: the joys of other-centeredness, the Magic and Beauty that is present all around when you have eyes to see it, and belief in One who gives and sustains all of life.

It’s also true that I had that all too frequently used excuse that I just had too much to do to spend time in God’s Word—half a book to read, and my reading time limited to Cora’s naps. But Martin Luther’s “too busy not to pray” words keep coming back to me, a man who prayed two hours a day except on particularly busy days when he needed to pray three. Having my concentration focused solely on Him, asking for His guidance and blessing on my day, these are the things that will make my day blessed, and hopefully, a blessing. And that is my greatest desire…that every day be delightfully full of Magic.