Do you dare come to the Garden?

As today is Palm Sunday, hopefully most of us are in remembrance of what this week holds. The above picture is one I took of the thorns on the rose bush out in the yard, and I think it's a perfect picture for preparing ourselves for this week. As I read Mark 14:32-42, I ask myself, "Would I dare to even step foot in a garden like Jesus did?". Jesus and his disciples went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. This garden was not the garden like we have here in the South, filled with peas, squash, corn, and tomatoes. Nor was it a garden filled with beautiful roses, pansies, daises and sunflowers. It was an olive grove, the place where they squeezed the oil for the olives. I've never been to a place like this, but I can imagine that it was a very peaceful, serene place.
This "olive grove" known as the Garden of Gethsemane, was one of Jesus' favorite places to go. If you read on in Luke 22:39 is says, "Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him." He traveled to this favorite place many times for prayer and mediation I'm sure. I know that I have a place like this, here in MS, and it's "the bottom" for me. A safe place I know I can go, where there is NOTHING, but God's beauty. No cell phones, no computer, no kids screaming (unless they're with me), no distractions, just me and God. In my "Gethsemane" I have taken many things to the Lord, but none as trying and overwhelming as what Jesus was going there to pray for.
In the passage from Luke, verse 40 Jesus' words are, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." WOW, that right there is enough to pray about forever! We all face temptations every minute we breathe. After praying that, it says he withdrew by himself, but the Luke passage tells us that he only withdrew , "a stone's throw beyond them". Hmm...all this time I thought he went off way past his disciples and was truly alone, but he wasn't that far from him. Having 2 kids I often find it very hard to find time to "be alone". Before kids I had all the time in my recliner to pray and read God's word as I wanted. But from Jesus' example it doesn't take being completely alone to go to the Lord in serious prayer! This certainly has challenged me!
As Jesus prayed he said, "Father if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." He knew the pain that was about to happen, he knew and did NOT want to go through it, but he said, "NOT my will BUT yours be done". How many times can we say that in our lives? It's a whole lot easier to say than live it out! I know from experience for sure. We can act like we do it, but do we really?

As Jesus prayed this it says, "And angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." The angel came and gave him strength! We now have the Holy Spirit to do that for us! This past week Joseph spiked a 104 fever, and a 103.7 one the next day. As a worrisome mom, I was really upset, as any mother would be. As I was about to put him down to sleep I held this little baby of only 19 pounds in my arms and rocked him. As I felt the heat radiate from his little body, flashes of him going into a seizure, or stopping breathing went through my mind. I began to cry and pray. I prayed for Jesus to lay his hands on him and heal him and protect him. As I was praying a literal peace flooded over me! I knew for a fact he was going to be fine! I kept rocking him, he still was radiating heat like fire, but God said do not worry he will be fine, lay him down, I have him.

I can honestly say that the breath of the Holy Spirit that night was more real to me than I've ever had! God strengthened me in my own time of distress. But, back to the scripture. Jesus rose up from his prayer only to find his disciples asleep, they were exhausted and asleep. I've always been the one to kind of sympathize with the poor disciples here. As a mom I know the importance of sleep, and I also know what it feels like to be totally exhausted. I've often asked myself, why is everyone always condemning the disciples, they're only human, and they were exhausted. But then I read Jesus' words to them, "Get up, and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."
We are usually tempted the most when we are the weakest. Don't our kids just seem to scream, whine, and tear up the house, on the days when we have a headache, and back ache, and are in a bad mood. When we are at our weakest point Satan knows how vulnerable we are, and jumps to do harm. I know from many experiences this to be true. But Jesus says, "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." My challenge for today, this week, and my life, is to do just this..."Get up, and pray!". As you ponder all this, remember what Jesus went through this week, the suffering and pain! He did it for our sins, for we are all sinners!!!