Morning Walks In the Gardens

Gardens at Spring Meadows – Early Morning

One of my favorite and most relaxing times is spent on early morning walks through my gardens. Walking dew covered pathways in the early morning hours, the sun is barely up. The dampness from the night still lingers in the air. The leaves of trees and flowers glisten with morning dew. Even though I took the same walk late the evening before, it is no surprise when I find something new along the paths. A beautiful flower may be blooming today, and only today. If I had not chosen to take a walk, I would have missed it.

Overhead, the birds are singing as they flutter from branch to branch, enjoying the early morning with me. A tiny rabbit scurries through the bushes, hiding out of sight. I smile as I walk through the cottage garden where an old rooster is hanging out in the zinnias! With all his beautiful colors, he almost blends in!

The blackberries are blooming, and some have already begun to form fruit. Before long, blackberry pies will be gracing our table! I can almost taste them now!

The strawberries seem to have ripened overnight, so I stop and pick a few to enjoy as I continue on my walk.

Entering the Rose Garden, the Radiant Perfume Grandiflora rose is blooming and its wonderfully intense citrus scent fills the air. The early morning is the best time to enjoy the most potent scent of roses, so I am getting the full benefit of the fragrance on my morning stroll. Stopping for a moment, I close my eyes and breathe it in, taking deep relaxing breaths.

Leaving the Rose Garden, I continue through an arbor covered with Confederate Jasmine. The vine is filled with sweetly fragrant white flowers, creating a canopy over the walkway. A bench on the heavily scented pathway beckons me to sit awhile and ponder on the beauty of God’s handiwork. My dogs, Bear and Callie, and Zero the cat who accompanied me on the walk welcome the time to rest.

After a brief time, we move on and enter the Oak Trail where a few of the pink azaleas are still blooming around the bases of the majestic oaks. The trees were only seedlings when we first built our home at Spring Meadows. Rocks gathered years ago from the creek at the back of the property line the pathway. Growing next to the rock border are daylilies that are beginning to form buds and in a few days will be bursting with colors of yellow, red, and orange.

Crossing over a small bridge, and a short distance past the children’s playground, I am back to the porch where I began the morning walk. Refreshed and filled with the scent of a beautiful day, the hope of life, and the promise of new beginnings, I now face this day with a clear mind and thankful heart.

Friends recently shared a statement with me, and their words echo in my mind. When God called them into missions, to leave their family and friends to follow Him to a distant land, they heard God speak to their heart these words, “Just Show Up!” Each morning, God never fails to meet me on these paths through the gardens. All I have to do is “Just Show Up,” and He is there!

Psalm 63: 1-5

1 “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

²To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

³Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

⁴Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

⁵My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:”