How do we get to know someone better? Our song “In The Garden” suggests answers to that question. Please give it a sing-along listen, then lets talk about building warm relationships.
Getting to know you
It is not hard for a person to be a better expert on their hobby than on their their job. That might seem backwards, but it is easy to explain:
We like to spend time with what we like.
Hobbies are optional. People pick up hobbies because they like them, and are happy spending time learning about them. People at the top of their professional fields often love their work like a hobby. They spend time with what they like, and get really good at it.
We get to know things by spending time with them.
We get to know people by spending time with them.
We get to know God by spending time with Him.
Spending time with Him
Our song “In The Garden” starts with “I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses”. See the picture. We are up and moving, walking in a lovely, quiet place. Phone is off. It is morning, the day is young, the dew is still on the flowers, and the fragrance is heavenly. Birds stir and sing quietly. We are alert — looking, hearing, smelling, touching.
We can’t help but start a conversation with the One who created this beauty.
He used His ability to bring such beauty into existence for our enjoyment. He used His ability to bring us into existence and enabled us to see, understand and enjoy Him.
God is amazing. People are amazing. Take time to get to know them.
Talking and listening
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch. Psalm 5:3 [NRSV]
We cannot always get to a real garden to visit with the Lord. But we CAN have a Garden of the Lord in our minds and visit it often. We can plant and nurture God’s thoughts in this garden by spending quality time reading the Bible, absorbing Bible teachings.
As we spend time conversing with the Lord we’ll see this Garden grow and blossom. Keep in mind that conversations include both talking and listening. Conversations with our Heavenly Father can include thanking Him for big things and small, telling Him what we are thinking, asking for help — and listening for His answers.
Picture this kind of prayer time as an unhurried — ongoing — conversation with a dear friend. Time is spent enjoyably. Hearts and minds meet. Ideas are exchanged. Some ideas might be set in motion, and only finished years later. Sometimes the whole point is simply to enjoy time together. We don’t just talk. We pause and enjoy the response of the other.
Happy gardening! Spend more time with what you like. Enjoy your times together in the garden.
God bless you lots.
-Dale R.
LYRICS: In The Garden
C. Austin Miles (1913)
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.
Chorus:
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
Let’s stay in touch
Each time I post a new song and lesson here I send a brief, cheerful note to friends of this song site. The note gives a quick description of the song and lesson along with a link to the new song’s page. It is super-easy for you to get a note from me, too. Just click the green “Song of the Week” button below and you are almost there.
To sweeten the deal, you will also get instant access to the “Music Box” where I put all the free resources and downloads that go along with these song pages. Check it out now! Good stuff. (Side note — I still post announcements on social media, too, even though I have learned it is terribly unreliable at getting the message out and keeping us connected. Email gets that job done where social media fails. We do well to connect this way, and avoid getting throttled by social media.)
Share your wisdom with other readers ...
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First posted August 30, 2019. New song video and article updated February 16, 2024.
Good evening Dale, my dear friend and minister.
I remember the first time I heard this song as a child sitting beside my mom at a sunrise service for Resurrection Sunday (Easter). It stuck in my heart. I could not have been over 7 as I remember it and it’s still in there. IN MY HEART. I have developed spending time with The Master in quiet of the morning. These moments and sometimes hours sets a course for success not matter whether the seas are calm or the ride gets bumpy… He always answers.
Thanks for all your love and efforts sir. You are a saint.
Michael, Thank you for sharing this. It seems this song resonates with many. I heard from two others today, folks “our” age, who said this song was memorably important to their mothers. It was a joy to get to sing it again. Thank you for your note. God bless you lots — DRDR …:-)
Dear mr dale, “AWESOME ” And “AMAZING , I like your thinking,…………..you can find “OUR FATHER ANYWHERE AND MISS HIM EVERYWHERE…. If We don’t take time to honor our. HEAVENLY FATHER, IN Our Every day life, we can Miss HIM ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE, All we have to do is remember does two ” MERCIFUL Words “,that u spelled out…because, HE IS ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE……THANKS Dale……………Julia…