The Garden of Gethsemane, Part 1

The South Garden

I didn't get my height from my mom. :)

The gardener was there in the south garden at the time and asked Joni if she wanted to come through the gate and get a picture near the tree.  She was reluctant, but I think she'll eventually think this picture is pretty cool.

One weird thing about going to the Garden of Gethsemane that you wouldn't expect is that it's close to a loud, busy road.  So as you walk around the Garden and marvel at the old olive trees, you can hear the sounds of people, cars, and honking in the background.  Since I'm used to the sounds of the city, I don't think about it a whole lot, but it was very noticeable to my mom and sister, Becky.  I was feeling bad for a minute because it seemed to be a distraction for them. 

But when I allowed myself to really think about the significance of what happened there in the Garden, the noises suddenly felt very fitting to me.  Christ suffered for all of God's children - not just for every Christian pilgrim there in the Garden, but for every Muslim driver honking their bus horn, for every Jewish family driving across the city in their car, and for the pedestrians smoking as they cross the street.  

Suddenly the noise wasn't such a distraction.  It somehow made the Garden that much more beautiful.