If you live in central Arkansas, you’ve probably heard about Garvan Woodland Gardens (https://www.garvangardens.org/). It’s a beautiful botanical garden. I was introduced to this garden when I was in high school with some dear family friends and it is just as wonderful 20 years later!
The adventure for this month came from my friend Bekah. She encouraged me to once again journey through the many paths of Garvan as it’s probably been about 2 years since I’ve been there and it is located about 45 minutes from my house. The drive is along beautiful scenic Highway 7. If you’ve ever driven it, you know what I mean. 🙂 I found a Friday afternoon in June that would work and put it on my calendar.
As I got out of my car, I was greeted by a peacock named George. 🙂
The gardens have a lot of covered trails that are beautiful! It was quiet and not busy. It gave me a sense of rest and I started to think about the times that Jesus rested. He often stepped away to pray and rest.
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain
Matthew 5:1a
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was.
Mark 4:35-36a
And probably the most well known is when Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Christ had a good balance of serving and resting. As I walked around the garden for about an hour, I was reminded of the importance of rest and reflection. The garden has a self-guided tour and I visited 30 of the 49 locations that they highlighted (see map below).
There were places to sit and reflect as well as grassy areas and wooded spots. The gardens are right off a lake, so you can find plenty of water locations if that is what makes you stop and reflect.
While these gardens are cultivated by man’s hands, it is the amazing creativity of our God that allowed it to blossom and grow! I’m hoping to make it back here again soon to see the rest of the spots that I missed. I’ve uploaded a few of my favorite “stop-and-reflect” spots. If you can’t make it there yourself, maybe you can slow down and rest as you mosey through my pictures! Praying rest for you physically, spiritually, and emotionally!
Adventures of a Single Pretzel 