I Come to the Garden Alone

[bluidkiti]

I Come to the Garden Alone," C. Austin Mills

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.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing;
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing. Refrain

I'd stay in the garden with Him
Tho' the night around me be falling;
But He bids me go; thro' the voice of woe,
His voice to me is calling. Refrain

I am writing this devotional from the little shack at the edge of our garden. This master closet-sized shack fits our desk, a small filing cabinet and a chair. The walls are lined with books. The two windows face out to the garden. Each day this summer, I have come out here alone, sitting in the shack and reading my daily devotional. A fuchsia and a hummingbird feeder hang side by side outside the window. I watch the hummingbirds and pray.

When I end my devotion, I walk directly out to the garden where I check my growing flowers and vegetables. I always feel that God is walking with me. Sometimes I sing a newer contemporary version of the old hymn "I Come to the Garden." It is by Watermark and titled "In the Garden/There is None Like You." This "garden time" grants me the saving graces of stepping forth into the day in strength (instead of fear), of having a melody placed in my heart and of remembering that God has called me his own.

Dear God, thank you for the wonder of your creation and that you meet us where we walk. As you walk beside us, may we hear the melody that you want us to be in tune with this day. Amen.

Tim and Chamie Delkeskamp