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Pastimes : JESUS and FINANCIAL FREEDOM -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jane Hafker who wrote (906)	5/15/1998 9:31:00 AM
From: gregor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1283

Dear Jane : I thought I would share this with everyone, it blessed me ! It was sent to me by a friend. The Gardener I peeked through the curtains at the garden that grew outside my window and cringed. A mosaic of cracks in the hard-packed dirt held brown, brittle weeds, or were they once flowers? Impossible to tell. It was surrounded by a high brick wall with an old rusty gate. No one would ever open that gate again. The whole scene was lifeless and offered no hope that it could ever be anything else. I was startled by the doorbell. "Who is it?" "I am the Gardener," a voice answered. "The Gardener? I don't have a Gardener." I said, as I opened the door. "How do you know I have a garden?" "My Father created your garden," he said, "Each one He creates is unique and has a special purpose." "But it is completely dead. I have ruined it." "None are hopeless. Ask me to come in and I will restore your garden for its original purpose." "No, I think this is hopeless." I closed the door. "That Gardener cannot bring this place back to life," I said out loud. I passed several days without thinking about my garden. But one morning, I could not ignore it. The hopelessness of the garden pushed in all around me. I could see only wasted life, dead dreams, and dried-up hopes. Nothing in that garden was redeemable. Nothing. He said he could restore this garden, but once he saw it, he would say, "I'm sorry, I was wrong. I did not realize how bad your garden was. It is not worth saving." I sat down on an old bench and began to cry. "Oh, Gardener, I want to believe you could save my garden." I heard a rusty creak and lifted my head. The gate was opening! The Gardener stood outside. "How did you know I wanted to see you?" "I heard you ask for me." He began to look around my garden. I watched his face to see the inevitable look of disappointment and resignation. He raised his eyes to mine and I saw... joy! He was smiling! I looked around and wondered what he saw that could make him smile. I was afraid to ask him what he thought of my garden, but anxious to know if he really could save it. I could not speak. "I would love to save this garden," he said quietly. I felt a swelling of certainty that he could save my garden. That he wanted to save my garden, and that he loved the garden his Father had created. "Oh, please," I cried, "please come in and save my garden. Show me your Father's original purpose!" I held out my hand and invited him inside. Contributed by Sharon Sparks