Garden Moment

From MWB Archives (Sept 2021) ... It's been said a friend is someone who knows you well and still likes you.  Honestly, it's not just friends but family.  No one knows my uh-ohs and oh-nos better than my husband and children: they eat my "burnt offerings," they see me without makeup, they don't comment on my morning hair, and they know me before the day's first shot of caffeine.  Have you ever thought about the hard things that happened in gardens?  Man's worst moment came about in a garden, and Jesus prayed one of His toughest prayers in a garden: "Father, let this cup pass from Me."  Jesus asked The Father if He [really] must face the horrors of death but it was [indeed] the Will of The Father.  For me, Christ surrendered His own will ... yes, for me.  God already knew my faith would be shallow and weak; that there would be times when the world [and my family] would look at me and wonder what difference Christ really made in my life. Yes, He knew all that and more! But, there in that garden of prayer, Jesus' obedience reigned!  "For even Christ pleased not Himself." (Romans 15:3); "It pleased The LORD to bruise Him." (Isaiah 53:10a).  Man's terrible garden blunder was gloriously superseded by the beauty of Jesus' garden surrender to finish His mission - to redeem my soul. I'm so thankful for Jesus and His ... garden moment.