I recall fondly being with my grandfather, Earl Thompson at his homestead house on the high desert plains of Colorado. I could not have been but about 4 or 5 years old at the time. Today I was going to help grandpa bring in water for the house from the well. As we walked along the path, grandpa would sing a song that I had heard many times from my dad. I had no grasp of its meaning, but I knew what a garden was and here I was ready to help with a chore. The tune was a hymn, and it held significance with two of my heroes, Dad and Grandpa.
In my later years as I spoke with my daughter on the telephone, she told me she had purchased a copy of that old hymn. I shared with her that my elders sang the song when I was just a pup.
Here is the Public Domain story behind it's creation written by the author of the hymn himself, Mr. C. Austin Miles:
The Story Behind In The Garden
Here is the account of how this beautiful hymn was written from the hymn writer, C. Austin Miles, himself, “One day in April 1912, I was seated in the dark room where I kept my photographic equipment, and also my organ. I drew my Bible toward me and it opened at my favorite book and chapter, John chapter twenty. I don’t know if this was by chance or by the work of the Holy Spirit. I will let you the reader decide. That story of Jesus and Mary in John 20 had lost none of its power and charm.
It was though I was in a trance, as I read it that day, I seemed to be part of the scene. I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary’s life when she knelt before her Lord and cried, “Rabboni”. I rested my hands on the open Bible, as I stared at the light blue wall. As the light faded, I seemed to be standing at the entrance of a garden, looking down a gently winding path, shaded by olive branches. A woman in white, with head, bowed, hand clasping her throat, as if to choke back her sobs, walked slowly into the shadows. It was Mary. As she came unto the tomb, upon which she placed her hand, she bent over to look in and ran away.
John, in a flowing robe, appeared looking at the tomb. Then came Peter, who entered the tomb, followed slowly by John. As they departed, Mary reappeared leaning her head upon her arm at the tomb, she wept. Turning herself, she saw Jesus standing there, so did I. I knew it was He. She knelt before Him, with arms outstretched, and looking into His face cried, “Rabboni”.
I awakened in sunlight, gripping my Bible with my muscles tense, and nerves vibrating, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. I wrote as quickly as the words could be formed the lyrics exactly as it is sung today. That same evening, I wrote the tune. It is sung today as it was written in 1912.”
Although Dad and Grandpa have been gone a very long time, I can still hear their voices echo in the archive of my heart.
In The Garden
I come to the garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses..
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.
He speaks and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing;
And the melody that He gave to me Within my heart is ringing..
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.
I'd stay in the garden with Him, Tho' the night around me be falling ;
But He bids me go; Thro' the voice of woe, His voice to me is calling...
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.
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Holy Spirit, Lord God, Thank-You for placing this missive in my heart tonight. Thank-You for Mr. C. Austin Miles, and thank-You for my daughter whose love of Jesus is second to none. Especially, Lord, thank-You for gifting me the opportunity to share this with others in the name above all names, AMEN
HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?
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