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Journey to Walled Garden:  Part Two

11/18/2019

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PictureGrapevine at Walled Garden

 This is the grapevine that brought me to tears.  I still can't explain it.  The moment I saw it, the resignation that had crept into my heart began to dissipate. Perhaps the Lord had heard my cry! Perhaps our time in this beautiful 'wilderness' was coming to an end.  I sent Henry the link to Walled Garden.  God's timing was perfect...he would be driving down to Kiltarlity for our grandson Paxton's birthday in just a few days.  Maybe he and Kate could take a look at "Walled Garden!"
"Mom, I can see you and Dad living there!" Kate was enthused.  Henry agreed.  We would need to make another trip south when I arrived home from the States. 

Soon after I visited Walled Garden I was assailed with doubt. It exceeded my expectations, but I could not explain the sudden, sharp conflict in my heart.  Was it a warning from the Lord?  Had I hoped in vain?  We returned to Orkney and made the decision to put Little Halley on the market anyway.  It seemed an irrational decision with nowhere to go!  It must have been a step of faith the Lord needed us to take...we needed to walk by faith, and not by sight.  The conflict I felt about Walled Garden disappeared when I released Little Halley.  Autumn is not a particularly  desirable time to list a home, so we expected a window of several months (or more) to prepare for the move.  We had two viewings on Tuesday...and two offers by Friday the same week!
"Who told thee that night would never end in day? Who told thee that the winter of thy discontent would proceed from frost to frost, from snow and ice and hail to deeper snow, and yet more heavy tempest of despair?  Knowest thou not that day follows night,
that flood comes after ebb, that spring and summer succeed winter? 
Hope thou then!  Hope thou ever! For God fails thee not!


"He was better to me than all my hopes;
He was better than all my fears;
He made a bridge of my broken works
And a rainbow of my tears."
These words from Streams in the Desert sprang to life for me!  First, the name of 'Walled Garden,' which did not seem a coincidence in relation to my book...and now the word 'BRIDGE.'  In my book, The King's Garden, Papa builds a bridge to bring His children home.  In researching the name of Drumnadrochit, the village we are moving to, I discovered it is Scottish Gaelic, meaning 'The Ridge of the Bridge.'

The Lord has taken my broken works here in Orkney, and shined His light upon them.  He has made a rainbow of my tears and is leading us to 'The Ridge of the Bridge' and to "Walled Garden".
I have repeatedly asked the Lord's forgiveness for my lack of faith these past few years in Orkney...and for the horrible witness I have given.  I fell prey to the enemy's oldest lies:  "God is not good.  Just look at what He has allowed to happen to you!  You have been abandoned...and will rot in uselessness for the rest of your days."
THE DEVIL IS A LIAR!
I am relearning to trust the Lord and His unfailing promises.  Without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God!  Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God:
"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
You who seek the Lord:
Look to the Rock from which you were hewn,
And to the quarry from which you were dug.
Look to Abraham your father (who believed God)
And to Sarah who bore you...
For the Lord comforts Zion;
He comforts all her waste places
AND MAKES HER WILDERNESS LIKE EDEN,
Her deserts like the (Walled) Garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness will be found in her;
Thanksgiving and the voice of song."
(from Isaiah 51)
He is GOOD, and His mercies endure forever. 
​Soli Deo Gloria!
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Journey to Walled Garden:  Part One

11/16/2019

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Five years ago this month I embarked on the wildest adventure of my life!  Following the Lord's leading, Henry and I packed up and moved 5,000 miles, from western Washington State to the Orkney Islands (off the north coast of Scotland).  Many of you will be aware that the past five years have stretched me...
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Picture
After a final week of memory making at Little Halley, we said 'goodbye' as a family. Tears flowed freely as Kate, Richard and the grandchildren drove down the drive for the last time. Our son Drew left two days later.    When I got home from the airport, I found myself embracing the ancient stone wall in the sitting room. I pressed my face  against it and sobbed.  Life in Orkney has not been easy, but Little Halley has been our God-given refuge on many a dark day these past five years.

A year ago we thought our time in Orkney was coming to a close.  We had a valuation done and all the photos ready to put Little Halley on the market.  Not wanting to step outside of the Lord's will, we prayed "Lord, if this is NOT your will, please make it clear."  The following day a neighbor asked if we would consider hosting a Bible study.  He had approached the pastor of a local church with the same request and was denied.  We realized the Lord's work for us in Deerness was not finished. 

I am so thankful for God's wisdom and perfect timing. Having experienced continued, bewildering loss of relationship here, the Lord knew we needed the fellowship of a small group we have grown to love. God gave us the opportunity to finish strong, granting us the privilege of watching the seeds we planted begin to germinate and grow.  I know the Lord will finish the work He has begun.

In late August I flew back to Washington to stay with my Mom while my sister and her husband were away. I looked forward to enjoying the warmth of late summer and was not disappointed.  It was HOT, and the heat meant LOTS of watering...a great excuse to soak up the sunshine.  As I  watered the hydrangeas, I  reflected on the nature of our life in Orkney.  I am ashamed to admit that I began to covet my sisters plants.
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"Lord," I began to pray.  "Please forgive me for coveting these plants!  It's just that our  life in Orkney has been characterized by barrenness these past few years! It feels as though the barrenness has crept into every aspect of our lives...social, spiritual, even botanical!  Lord, you know my heart." 

I finished watering and decided to indulge myself by having a quick look at homes for sale on the Mainland (where gardens flourish, untouched by the fierce, salt-laden gales that characterize Orkney).  A property near the shores of Loch Ness immediately caught my eye.  Just next to the entrance stood a towering DOUGLAS FIR TREE...a sentinel and a reminder of "home."  Extensive gardens included a greenhouse, inside which grew a grapevine.  A cluster of green grapes hung from the vine.  I suddenly, shockingly burst into tears!

"What a peculiar reaction," I asked myself, "who bursts into tears at the sight of a grapevine?"

The following day, after watering Lisa's plants, once again I succumbed to the temptation.  This time I noticed the name of the home/property with the greenhouse:  "Walled Garden."  My heart skipped a beat! 

The week prior to travelling to the States I  signed a contract with a publisher in England to publish my first children's book:  "The King's Garden:  Parable of the Impossible Tree."  It is the story of a King who lives with his children in the safety of a vast and glorious Garden.  All is well until the children disobey Papa and find themselves outside the protection of the Garden wall...Great sacrifice is made to build a bridge, making a way for  the children to find their way Home.  

I began to wonder if the Lord was about to "give back the years that the locusts have eaten."



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    Anne Reitzug

    Sojourner.  Servant.  Recipient of undeserved  Grace.  Worshiper.

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