The Rose Of Gethsemane’s Garden

The Rose Of Gethsemane’s Garden   
By Paul McCann

Frank was a good man who loved working in the garden and spent most of his life on bended knee and on bended knee he spent most of his life . Every day he found a way to take a moment there to pray as he  was working in the garden . It was always hard work . no time for laughing when he was grafting with hands covered in dirt and flies buzzing around your eyes as sweat was running down your face  . It didn’t matter what he was doing or where he in the garden he could be praying when he was spraying the bugs or potting or pruning , sometimes he worked after hours for no pay in the garden at Gethsemane . Frank was a dedicated gardener and the work was endless and back breaking . With an aching in his bones, he still kept working .
propagating , transplanting , sowing new seeds . digging out weeds and regularity watering and feeding the garden beds . Frank called it therapy on bended knee .

Before he was given the job as the gardener at the garden of Gethsemane . He begged for food in the town and struggled to pay the rent .Now and then some people reached out to help him and he never forgot those days but now as the regular gardener life was a lor easier for him . He always remembered when times were tough and he hadn’t enough but he always prayed and asked for mercy and when people were unkind, he tried to find a way to forgive them , He refused to let anger dwell in his heart and turned his thoughts to peace and love . In the garden he was able to find peace working with the soil which was fertile . Everything he planted grew fast and each season there were different shrubs and flowers in bloom . He trimmed the hedges and manicured the edges and swept the paths and raked the leaves .

He knew every tree , every flower , every garden bed and everything that grew in the garden of Gethsemane .   One Thursday evening when Frank was working after hours he noticed a group of men had gathered near to the olive tree in the centre of the garden and as much as possible he didn’t want to disturb them and tried to be  unobtrusive as he worked in the garden .It was getting late and the men were still hanging around the garden which concerned Frank . He was worried that they might be up to no good so he stayed longer than usual to keep an eye on things . All but one of the men lay down to sleep except for one who got on his knees and was praying . Not long after some soldiers came and after a scuffle, they took away the man who had been praying while the other all left in a hurry . Frank went over to where the incident had happened and could see there was some damage to the garden beds . It was now to dark to see how bad the damage was but he noticed some flowers around the garden had been trampled on . The next morning Frank came early to inspect the garden and much to his surprise there was no damage to be seen anywhere . The he noticed a single rose in bloom beside the olive tree . It had the most beautiful perfume and was unique in many ways . Never before was there rose in that area of the garden , never before had Frank seen a rose like this , never before did a rose bloom at that time of the year and never before did he see a rose in the garden without any thorns . The rose had just grown there overnight  as if by a miracle .  Then he remembers the good man who was praying there the night before and thought maybe he must have planted it there . He knelt down and said his morning prayer as he dug up the rose with the thought of grafting it to ensure it would not die .

Frank starting the grafting work and placed the rose in a work shed in the garden and fed it with some rose food . As the weeks passed the rose was growing stronger . Frank decided to make a special rose garden bed near the gate of the garden for everyone to appreciate as they entered or left the garden .

He knew that the road bed would be a long project but one that he was eager to get started . He wanted to create a place of beauty where people could escape their troubles and feel relaxed and at home . He felt as if he had been sent a mission to create a garden where people could  let their anger relent and discover peace instead . What more in life could a good garden ever accomplish than that and so Frank had the answer    to what he had to do .

He trusted that God would help him achieve that mission and everyday he continued to work and pray on bended knee and slowly the garden was becoming a beautiful place that attracted new birds and people to visit . Frank often heard God speak to him as he worked , the voice that spoke to him was always encouraging and gave him hope and  strength to continue the work and finish the project on the rose garden at  Gethsemane.

When the work was completed, Frank was given support from local people . who saw something very special had been created there . Each day as more families came to visit the garden , the word spread about Gethsemane’s rose garden that had this heavenly aroma that lingered with people even after leaving the area . Frank had worked hard like a slave from dawn to dusk . He built a small wall around the garden with a pathway and a well and a seat for relaxing and reflecting . The rose in the centre of the garden had become massive with thick branches covered with new budding roses every day . Franks efforts were rewarded by the crowds that came every day and for many years after his death a presence of love and peace had been bestowed upon every who came to visit the rose garden in Gethsemane.

The End