Never Alone

• Posted on sdgale
• in 'CHOP Talk' Blog
• on December 26, 2013
• Comments Off on Never Alone

The temperature that day was in the 40s, heading to the mid-50s, unusual for mid-December in Pennsylvania.  It seemed opportune for a little prayer-strolling around the public gardens of which I was a member but had not visited in a while.  Plus, the grounds were superbly bedecked for the Christmas season.  It was daylight.  I would miss out on the impact of the outdoor lighting, but there was still plenty to see, especially in the sprawling Conservatory.

It was one of those “you had to be there” sort of experiences.  Walls of red and cascades of light greeted me everywhere I walked.  Magnificent designs demanded my attention—and my study.  I could only marvel. The photo shows a main hall of the Conservatory.  Decorated trees on the right and left. Bright red flowers standing at attention along the border.  Red and green apples had been arranged in shallow water to form a patterned carpet down the middle.

My time of prayer was rich.  Gardens seem to bring out the best.  But as I walked I wished I had my wife by my side, so I could share my delight.  I could have called her attention to the things that caught my eye and we could have discussed them together.  Somehow, the experience was diminished without being able to share it.

But then it occurred to me.  I did have someone to share it with, right there with me—the Person with whom I had been communing in prayer!

With that realization, I spoke to Him about the marvels of His making, His creativity, His power.  For the designs of the gardeners, I gave Him glory for His image they reflected in their creativity and ingenuity.  Like a little child, my mind raced from display to display talking a mile a minute, engaging Him around what I was beholding.

Certainly, there were those times I was still and contemplative. But I was never unaware of His presence, and at the ready to converse with Him.

It occurred to me that is a good reminder for the course of life.  We may be without human companionship, but we are never alone.  Like He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, so our God walks with us in restored relationship through the reconciling work of His Son.