In the Garden

The beauty of the garden caught me off guard. After all this was a small town in the Midwest North Country where the growing season is short and the opportunities for prosperity limited. I had lunched with my friend Betsy in a small café right on the main street and then she gave me a tour of the town, all of which could be accomplished in less than five minutes. That was when “the garden” caught my eye. It was so beautiful and in many ways a bit out of place as it stood in a residential area and took up one lot….a lot where a home should be.

In the center of the garden was a lovely stone pavilion, circular in shape and held up by four stone pillars. Pathways entered from three sides and around the park were six benches. These were not your average park benches, but ones made by a true craftsman, unique in design and sturdy in form.

And then there were the flowers and shrubs, all planted with an eye for peace and serenity and there were occasional large boulders also expertly placed for design and beauty. Truly it looked a little bit like heaven on earth.

Betsy parked the car and we began to walk around. On each bench was a plaque dedicated to a different young person whose name, date of birth and death were solemnly engraved. When I entered the pavilion the whole story came into focus as there on the wall was the story of the event that happened on that very spot.

Four years earlier a house stood right where I was standing. It was graduation night and seven kids gathered there to celebrate with pizza and fun. One of the girls had broken up with her boyfriend just days before and on this night, filled with jealous anger, he arrived at the party with an assault rifle. Moments later six young people lay dead, the seventh critically injured. Days later he himself would be hunted down and shot dead.

In the twinkling of an eye, daily life in this small town was changed forever. Everyone knew all of the victims, in fact most everyone was related to at least one of them. In that small town probably the biggest crime ever committed was kids throwing eggs at passing cars. But on this night hell and all its evil made a visit and seven young promising lives were gone forever. What was left was shock, disbelief, sorrow and despair.

So what does one do with such devastation? Build a garden. The house was torn down and with it the constant reminder of the horror that took place that night. And in its place, a Garden. New birth. Beauty. Peace. Comfort. Hope.

I was reminded once again of the deep longing within us to return to the Garden…to that safe place where sin is not allowed to enter, that place where there are no tears or sorrow. That place where God is. But this earth is not heaven, for the present it belongs to Satan and will until Christ comes back. That Garden is a reminder of both…the battle on earth with pure evil and the hope of heaven and pure joy. In the meantime God occasionally gives us small glimpses …a garden….a reminder…this is not our home.

And the Lord sent him out from the Garden of Eden…
Genesis 3:23