TEND LOVE LIKE ROSES

May 17, 2021

Introduction:

There is a secret garden within each of us. A place where love, like a rose, must be tended. If left in neglect, it withers, its petals browning at the edges, its fragrance fading into the wind. But where it is nurtured, pruned with care, and given light—there, it flourishes.

The Journey: Learning from the Garden

"Where you tend a rose, my lad, a thistle cannot grow."

— F. Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

These words are more than a gentle reminder about gardening. They speak of the heart—about love, and about what we choose to nurture in our lives.

When I walk through a garden, especially a wild one, where little pink roses climb freely over an old stone wall, something stirs within me. The wind plays with the petals, the sunlight dances through the leaves, and for a moment, I sense the sheer artistry of our loving Abba Father. It’s as if His hand has painted this place, tenderly shaping every bloom, every blade of grass. And I wonder—does love feel this way? To be in love, to love deeply, is it like walking through a garden that has been carefully tended, where beauty overflows, uncontained yet not chaotic?

F. Hodgson Burnett "The Secret Garden"

The Summit: A Garden of the Soul

Jung wrote about the garden of the soul. He saw it as a symbol of the Self—our inner world, where unconscious and conscious meet. A place that must be cultivated, or else it becomes overgrown with weeds of fear, resentment, and neglect. The Bible speaks of this too:

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." — Proverbs 4:23

Guarding the heart is not about building walls. It's about cultivation—pulling weeds, watering what’s good, and allowing the light of truth to reach even the shadowed places.

Spiritual Connection: God the Gardener

And what of God’s love?

It is always tending. Always reaching.

Even when we forget to water our own gardens, He does not forget. He kneels in the soil, hands in the dirt, coaxing life from what seems lifeless.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit." — John 15:5

God’s love is never passive.

We are not alone. We are co-gardeners with Him.

Personal Invitation: Tend Love Like Roses Daily

But do I tend love the way He does? Do you?

Tending love is an act of daily care. It is patience when irritation arises. It is choosing to see beauty where others see inconvenience. It is offering kindness not just when it’s easy, but when it costs something. It is pruning—cutting away selfishness, pride, and fear so that something greater can bloom.

Imagine your heart as a garden. What grows there? Have you watered the roses, or have thistles taken root? And if there are thistles, will you take Abba’s hand and begin the work of tending again? Because love, like a rose, is not just planted once. It is nurtured. It is watched over. It is given light.

Reflection: My Own Secret Garden

What part of my heart needs tending today?

What "weeds" might be choking my ability to love well?

Where is God already kneeling in the soil of my life?

Closing Quote

"And where you tend a rose, love will always grow."

— The Secret Garden