About eighty yards behind the campus chapel at Laurel Mountain Ministries, near the edge of the woods, sits a small Prayer Garden. Wood-chip paths wind through bushes and flower gardens that change with the seasons. A few small trees provide shade. Two large pieces of fieldstone serve as natural benches.
People come there to reflect and pray. Some arrive bearing burdens they need to talk to God about. Others sit on one of the stone benches for a while and enjoy the peace.
Across the lawn, beneath old white oaks, sits our cross-shaped baptismal pool. Throughout the summer, churches gather around it almost every weekend for baptisms. When we aren’t baptizing, the filter keeps the water moving. This year we added a heater to warm the water for baptisms.
That last improvement apparently changed the purpose of the pool. At least for one four-year-old.
Denise does a lot of the gardening and landscaping around the Mountain. One day near the end of summer, she brought her four-year-old grandson along while she worked in the Prayer Garden. She pulled weeds and changed some of the plants for fall while he stayed nearby to “help.”
He knew the baptismal pool. He saw it every time he helped “Mimi” garden on the Mountain. On an earlier visit, Denise repeatedly warned him not to go into the water. Eventually, she bent the rule enough to let him sit beside the pool and dangle his feet in the water while she hovered nearby.
Apparently, he remembered that day.
This time Denise turned her attention to the plants for a few minutes. When she looked around, her helper was gone.
Then she found the evidence.
Her grandson’s clothes lay scattered across the lawn between the Prayer Garden and the baptismal pool. One piece here. Another farther along. They left a trail that pointed directly toward the water.
Denise hurried toward the pool, following the path of discarded clothes.
There he was, sitting in his underwear on the steps of the baptismal pool, his feet in the warm water.
She asked, “What are you doing?”
“I’m splashing in the hot tub.”
Denise gathered him up and reminded him that he was too young to be at the pool by himself. Then she collected his clothes and took him back to the garden, giggling to herself about the whole thing.
I smiled when I heard the story. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Denise’s grandson experienced that part of the Mountain differently than many of us adults.
Adults come to the Prayer Garden to find peace.
Kids just rest in the peace that’s already there.
Jesus once spoke to people who knew something about carrying burdens.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
We bring Him our worries along with the questions we can’t answer. We pray about our families and circumstances. We talk to Him about decisions waiting for us when we get up from the bench.
There is nothing wrong with any of that. Jesus invited burdened people to come.
But sometimes I wonder if we hear the first part of His invitation and miss the second.
“I will give you rest.”
On another occasion, people brought children to Jesus. The disciples tried to stop them, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:14
Those children weren’t coming with theological questions. They weren’t trying to solve mysteries. Someone simply brought the children to Jesus. He took them in His arms and blessed them.
Maybe children understand something about rest that becomes harder for us to grasp as we grow older.
Unlike our children or grandchildren, we adults find ways to turn almost anything into work, even resting. Sometimes we become so occupied with what brought us into God’s presence that we forget simply to rest with Him.
Sometimes we just need to come and rest in Him.
A four-year-old didn’t know that people came to that garden looking for peace. He didn’t understand what that cross-shaped pool represented to the people who gathered around it for baptism. He felt the warm water. He knew the place felt good. So he sat down and enjoyed being there.
Maybe that’s why his little “hot tub” stayed with me.
God invites us to bring Him what weighs us down. But while we are with Him, He doesn’t invite us to carry the load around with us. After all, Jesus said He would give us rest.
Perhaps peace isn’t always something we need to search for. Sometimes it is already there in His presence.
Adults come looking for peace.
Maybe every once in a while, we need to remember how to sit down and rest in the peace that’s already there.
About the Author
David Johnson is the co-founder and Director of Ministry at Laurel Mountain Ministries. He is an ordained minister, retired attorney, Bible teacher, and author who enjoys helping people discover God’s truth through practical Bible study. His latest book, PEACEMAKER: A Twelve Session Journey into the Heart of God’s Peace, is available on Amazon.
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