Prayer Walk

"Can I go with you on your prayer walk today?" I asked my husband. He'd recently been going off early to Cann Gardens, while I cleaned up after breakfast and did my morning routine.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, " but remember I'm gonna stop and sit a lot." That was okay, I didn't mind resting and praying a bit. After we had enjoyed one of the gazebos for awhile, I left him with his prayers and wandered around a little, with my own thoughts and prayers.

Going under an arbor, I noticed the handsome, twisted vines growing over it. Striking and imposing, they exuded a rugged strength that nourished the smaller vines dripping leaves through the lattice overhead. I couldn't help but think of the words of Jesus, "I am the vine, ye are the branches," John 15:5. In previous verses, He tells us that the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine.

"Look at these lilies!" I called to Howard as we resumed our walk. They were gorgeous! The blossoms were at least eight inches long, and they were a deep magenta, looking like royalty. Jesus is the Lily of the valley, I thought. Solomon 2:1 says, "I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys." Though this was spoken by the girl in the Song of Songs, both descriptions have been applied to Jesus, especially in our beloved hymns.

A little later, we passed under another arbor. "Look, grapes!" I exclaimed at seeing tiny green marbles clustered below the distinctive leaves. This was a grapevine! I almost wanted to reach out and bite into the green, probably hard, grapes. Grapes figure prominently in scripture, often used by Jesus in illustrations, since everyone in that agricultural time was familiar with wine and vineyards. His most important reference to wine was during the ritual in which we are told to remember His death, the wine representing His blood in our holy communion.

We found another inviting seat in a garden bench on the tiled terrace. A lovely planter stood beside it, and among the impatiens, marigolds and other plants filling it was a large stalk of corn, probably ornamental, judging from the variegated stripes on the waving, graceful leaves. I remembered the story of Jesus and the disciples walking through a corn field on the Sabbath. The disciples picked some corn, rubbing off the kernels with their hands. They came under scrutiny for this, apparently because rubbing off the grain represented work, a taboo on the Sabbath according to Jewish law. Jesus reminded them that He was Lord of the Sabbath!

We finished our walk, and I felt like I had been to church!