The Rose Garden Myth . . . or is it?

Posted by Misty | 0 comments

This week in my Classical Conversations class, we read a chapter in Josh McDowell’s book Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door which was entitled, “Exposing the Rose Garden Myth.”  It was all about how sometimes people think that when they come to Christ, it should make everything easy; that life turns simple and nice and nothing ever goes wrong again.

And this, of course, is a myth.  Jesus Himself said, “In this world you will have tribulation.”  He warned of coming persecution, and trials, and the devil’s desire to steal, kill, destroy, and even sift us like wheat.  A complete reading of the New Testament should be enough to assure us that becoming a Christian isn’t a recipe for “simple;”for many, indeed, it has proven just the opposite.

The book is well-written and we’ve enjoyed much of it.  If you ever want to engage a middle- or high-school-age student in interesting conversation about various fallacies, both spoken and unspoken, about Christ, the Church, the Bible, and theology, I highly recommend it!  Ultimately, though, I found myself unsatisfied with this chapter.  That, I believe, is due to another book I’m reading, which I simply must share with you.

Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts is climbing the charts, right now sitting at #7 on the New York Times Bestsellers List.  A homeschooling mama living on a ranch in Ontario, Canada, Ann writes a wonderful blog at A Holy Experience which, whenever I have a chance to pop in on it, has been used of God in my own life as a call to come closer to His heart and hear His words to me.  In this book, Ann takes us along on the journey He has led her on over the past few years.   I’ll let you rush right over to Amazon and buy a copy for yourself, and refrain from giving you an exhaustive summary here, but suffice to say it’s worth buying.  Twice.  (Or, like me, five times—once for yourself, and four more for friends.)

It’s that good.

But back to the Rose Garden Myth.

The heart of Ann’s book is a call to true thanksgiving; Eucharisteo, as it originally appears in the Greek.  As “homework,” she’s challenged us all to start a list; a list of 1,000 things you love—things you might, in fact, come to see as gifts from the Father’s hand, which they truly are.  Weeks into it, part of my list looked like this . . .

135. warm chocolate chip cookies

136.  cold milk

137.  oven lights.  Don’t know why, but they make me happy

138.  scented soap

139.  bedroom windows facing east, welcoming sunrise

140.  big brothers able to give little brothers a bath

141.  preteens asking, “Mom, what should I read next?”

142.  kind words from observers of my class

143.  itunes

144.  rain on the roof

Later on, like this . . .

301. not having to wait ’til Christmas to collect gifts

302.”thank yous”

303. sweet friend’s gift-surprise

304. silver filigree heart on long chain

305. plane tickets

306. Italy planning book

307. chocolates in a heart-shaped box

308. chubby face looking up at birds chorusing in tree

309. attention paid

310. chocolate milk

311. chocolate cake

312. husband manning the grill

313. afternoon nap

314. being chosen in Him

315. holy and blameless before Him–wondrous grace!

316. raspberry perfume

My list is somewhere around 700 now, only a few months after I began. My goal was to get to 1,000 by Thanksgiving.  Looks like I’ll hit it much sooner!

You get the idea.  Writing down the things I love about my life—from chirruping birds to gleeful children playing to the pounding of the ocean– has brought me to a conclusion that surprises me.  You’re the first to hear it.  (Okay, second, if you count my little class of middle-school students as first.)

God did promise you a rose garden.

 

And not only that, He already gave you one.  Or two.  Or thousands.  Because if I’m not mistaken, there are roses in a multitude of public gardens you could walk through any time you want.  There are bluebonnets in Texas, cherry trees in Washington, and when I was in North Carolina a few weeks ago, the pear trees were full of white flowers.  Have you been to California to see the sequoias and giant redwoods?  Taken in the Grand Canyon, or Niagara Falls?  God has surrounded us with beauty!  Our National Parks are a testimony to that.

So are our own front yards, if we do a little work, plant a few seeds, add a little water.  God’s heart is to surround you with beauty, and He’s already put it out there.  And it’s not just about the big, amazing places that make it to the map; there are rainbows and gorgeous sunsets and dew-sugared peaches and kaleidoscopes of color in soap bubbles, and they’re all within reach.

And this is the fallen version.

Is that not amazing?

Want more?  Sneak in on your babies tonight when they’re asleep and take just a glance at their precious little dream-brushed faces.  Brew yourself a nice, strong cup of tea and add just the right amount of sugar and cream, or bite into a really good piece of dark chocolate.  Pull Pandora up on your computer and type in “Tchaikovsky.”

He is wooing us.  Drawing us to His heart with beauty . . . evidences of His love . . . love notes that whisper.

Most of the time, we’re too busy to hear.

I don’t want that to be me, anymore.  And it isn’t.  Making a list has changed my perspective, my attitude, my very theology.

You should try it.  Look for your own rose garden!  I promise, it will change your life.

Misty Krasawski is the overly-blessed mom of eight children whom she homeschools in sunshine-y Florida. She has been clinging ferociously to the hand of her Lord since she was knee-high to a grasshopper, homeschooling for the past thirteen years, and has eighteen more years ahead of her with the children who are glad she will have done most of her experimenting on those who went before. Her wonderful husband Rob has much treasure laid up for him in heaven for having been called to such a daunting task. After the house goes to sleep she can sometimes be found gathering her thoughts at www.encouragingheartsathome.com.