The Secret Garden.....

As a little girl I remember falling in love with the movie "The Secret Garden." There was something about the chaos the children in the story was facing and being able to get away in the walls of the garden and feel completely free. There was a girl Mary who was an orphan, Dickon and Colin, who suffered from sickness and severe anxiety of becoming crippled and hunchback. All the characters in this story carried such heavy burdens but yet they were merely just kids. Finding the garden allowed them to escape the walls of their troubles and hid beneath the trees and brush to a place where they could feel protected and free. The children laughed and played behind those safe, familar walls and discovered what it was like to let go of all that was facing them on the outside.

Life can be tough and the battles we face can really weigh us down at times but we can always rest assured that apart from the chaos around us we can always take refuge in the arms of Christ. As I was walking home this morning from taking Macie to school something stood out to me and caught my attention. The gate to our backyard that we use daily to get to Macie's school is starting to become overgrown with tree branches and Ivy and the entrance is almost hidden. Its my own secret garden and the feeling I get as I step from the outside world each day into the familar threshold of my own backyard there just seems to be a sense of peace wash over me. Its as if regardless of what I'm facing on the outside, whatever battles are waiting for me out there, within the walls of my home I can find comfort and peace. Its a place that I can escape too and be me, bearing all my hurts, fears, sorrows and troubles before the Lord and finding comfort in His arms.

There are people around me right now facing some very difficult battles. The unknown is scary and can be overwhelming and exhausting. In those moments where we have nothing left to hold on to its comforting to know that we can take refuge in His arms, crawl up in His lap and find comfort from whatever we are facing. The words to the song "The More I seek You," say this. "I want to sit at Your feet, drink from the cup in Your hands, lay back against You and breath, feel your heartbeat. This love is so deep, its more than I can bear, I melt in Your peace, its overwhelming." The words to this song are so comforting to me, its as if I can literally find peace in His arms. Psalm 27:5 NLV "For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock."Whatever you are facing right now know that you can find peace and refuge in His arms.