{"id":21401,"date":"2017-05-30T00:10:41","date_gmt":"2017-05-30T07:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lccredding.com\/lcc\/?p=10922"},"modified":"2017-05-30T00:10:41","modified_gmt":"2017-05-30T07:10:41","slug":"may-30-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2017\/05\/30\/may-30-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"May 30, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cThe Lord planted a garden eastward in Eden\u2026 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food\u2026 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.\u201d<\/em> Genesis 2:8-9, 15<\/span><\/p>\n

The Garden<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

My mother had a green thumb. She planted as many varieties of flowers as would grow in our Southern California climate, along with fruit trees and vines of every sort. We were well-fed with fresh fruits and vegetables. I have tried to replicate her gardens, but alas, the squirrels, blue jays, rabbits, insects, and moles prevent a harvest.<\/span><\/p>\n

God chose the perfect place to plant His garden. We know this because Eden means \u201cdelight\u201d\u2014and besides, when did God ever do anything that was less than perfect?<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been thinking lately about gardens, and outdoor spaces in general. There is just something about them, perhaps something unidentifiable, something we can\u2019t find words to express. The outdoors just grabs us, calls to us, refreshes us, seems to bring life and light and breath to whatever is stale, rotted, or stagnant in us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I know some people who have a desperate, physical need to be outside for some portion of each day. Without it, they are either depressed, anxious or restless. I am one who will sit a long time looking out the window at the wind, rain, trees, and birds; I especially love the coast, rivers, and streams.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t you know it? Scientists are discovering that spending time in nature calms our frantic, tense, anxious minds and hearts. They are actually attaching electrodes to people\u2019s heads so they can measure whatever it is they measure to decide that open, green spaces are beneficial to mankind.<\/span><\/p>\n

God\u2019s ways are perfect. Didn\u2019t He put man in a garden to begin with? Didn\u2019t He promise rest? Doesn\u2019t He give us green pastures to lie down in? Doesn\u2019t He lead us by still waters? And by these, He restores our soul (Psalm 23:2-3).<\/span><\/p>\n

God knows what is best for us. We can\u2019t always return to what He originally intended, but surely detaching from the world for a time so that we can be refreshed is something we can practice. Let\u2019s get into a place where we can tune out the noise and tune in His voice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s He saying to you in the stillness? \u201cRise up, my love, my fair one, and come away\u201d<\/em> (Song of Solomon 2:10).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFather, You have created beautiful places for us. May we seek and find them, and be refreshed. In Jesus\u2019 Name, Amen.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Lord planted a garden eastward in Eden\u2026 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-women"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p92wjD-5zb","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21401\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}