TheElegantShoestring: Feed the Spirit -- The Secret Garden

Wouldn't you love to have a secret garden where only beauty and peace and love exist? A place of refuge from the storms of life, a place of personal renewal, a haven from the pressures of everyday life where you feel safe and secure and protected?

Each of us has the ability to plant that garden with seeds of love, joy, peace, goodness; to water it with refreshing cool water from a deep reservoir given especially to each of us if we desire it; and to reap the fruit of our time and effort.

HE WHO dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]. I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust! (Psalm 91:1-2)

We have a Heavenly Father who desires a relationship with us, a Father who desires to bless us beyond our wildest dreams,

But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed]. (I Corinthians 2:9)

a Father who will walk with use very day leading and guiding us into ways that will bring only good into our lives.

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. (Jeremiah 29:11)

That relationship requires our time and God has provided His Spirit deep within us that gently prompts us to take that time and spend it with Him so that we will have access to that secret garden where we can be strengthened and encouraged in our walk.

Why would we be "too busy" or "too tired" or "too distracted" to cultivate this garden? Time spent in this secret place renews our strength and our ability to handle life successfully. Time spent here insures we have a companion walking the pathways of our days with us. Time here will bring help in days of difficulty; peace in days of instability; strength in times of weakness; courage in periods of fear; joy in times of sadness.