Between the Gardens: Embracing the Pruning Process of God Through Trials and Tribulations to Grow and Bloom Where You Are Planted

By N. Maura

We all know the story of how Adam and Eve ate the apple and sin was introduced. God promised us that He was going to create a new place for us. But this place between the gardens can be hard.

Life hasn’t gone the way I thought it would. I’ve always been a woman of faith, so why has all this happened? The struggle we face from that apple is real! I was a child raised in faith who strayed and made bad decisions. I entered into a marriage with a man I loved so much that quickly turned into a very physically abusive relationship that spiraled into every mother’s nightmare. I wish I could say that was it, but it’s not.

This man whom I loved so much and who turned into someone I couldn’t recognize committed suicide, which left me full of guilt and fearful to raise our three children alone. The hits kept coming as I continued to get knocked down, now raising teenagers.

I’m a single mother of three. I work like Martha and pray like Mary! Life knocks me down over and over. The Bible says that the righteous fall seven times, but I’ve been down more than that. Each time I fell, God has helped me back up, and when I couldn’t get back up, He stood up for me. Why, why do I have to go through this? If I look at the plants in the gardens that have been grown and pruned, I see the Lord, too, has been planting, pruning, and harvesting my life to bloom me into purpose. So many times, I have felt alone and ashamed. If you feel that way or have been through heartbreaking moments and just wonder if you really are a child of God, I’m here to tell you that you are! You are not alone! You are saved! And even when bad things happen, God can turn them into good.

This is my story, and it’s raw and emotional. It’s my story of storms, planting, pruning, droughts, and transplanting that is blooming us into a new creation for His glory. I pray that sharing my tragedy and how God grew me and helped me bloom and heal will bring you comfort in your space between the gardens.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796069952

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Copyright © 2019 by N. Maura.

ISBN:                  Hardcover                        978-1-7960-6997-6

                            Softcover                           978-1-7960-6996-9

                            eBook                                978-1-7960-6995-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 11/06/2019

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CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

1     Where It Began

2     The Storm

3     Let’s Go Deeper

4     A Change in My Stone Heart

5     My Darkest Place

6     When Your Sin Is Made Public

7     Light over Darkness

8     The Seeds Are Being Sorted for Planting

9     The Weeds

10   Intimacy with God

11   Getting Uncomfortable

12   The Hard Cut and Taking Me Down to My Roots

13   Spiritual Warfare—Ready to Fight

14   The Fruit Tree

15   Sowing the Seeds

16   He’s Not Done with Us Yet

17   Journal

Preface

We all know the story of how Eve brought the apple to Adam and how sin was introduced to the world. Adam and Eve were living in the Garden of Eden, a perfect and beautiful place made just for them! The apple got eaten, and all of a sudden, they knew they were naked.

We all know the troubles that came after that. It had to happen. We had to have our eyes opened and exercise free will so that we can choose to follow and truly love God. God knew all these things would happen before they happened. So here we are in between the Garden of Eden and the place promised in John 14:3 NIV: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may be where I am.

We have the promise! But now it’s the space between that we have to grow in. Throughout the Bible, there are references to being fruitful and the vine and the pruning processes and harvests. We all journey through these seasons. Some of us are in places to bloom and prosper and receive abundant rewards. Then there are people like me who go through the pruning process over and over. God has cut me down over and over, and through all of it, He has used it for good. There have been moments where I have been absolutely crushed! And in those times, I am reminded of how the olives are crushed for oil and the grapes for wine.

For several years, I wondered why I had to go through so much! Every experience has brought me to my knees and closer to God, but why so many? I have been asking God why. Abusive husband, death of my husband, and even almost losing my children and my own life—they have been so many to endure. For the past decade, people have said I should write a book, and I shook it off. But now God has said to write this book, and here it is! My suffering has been great and widespread. If what I have endured can help even one person feel the love of our King, then this is all worth it.

This isn’t one of those stories where everything is pretty and we just talk about fruit and flowers. This is a book about the life that most of us lead. I’m a single mother of three who works a full-time job, and each month, I’m not sure how the bills will get paid. Every day is a blessing, but every day takes work. I’m that mom who struggles between being so busy like Martha and wanting to worship and be carefree like Mary. I’m that woman in the back of the church wanting to be friends with the other women, but they aren’t interested because there isn’t a ring on my finger. Harsh truths. I’m hoping that through my story and struggles, you can grow in your faith from my experiences and find some personal growth as I did.

If you are someone who is struggling to be fruitful in this space between the gardens, I need you to know that you are not alone and God loves you! If you are going through something, I’ve been there several times, and I promise you that you will make it to the other side, and it will work out for good!

These trials and seasons we go through are to grow us in the love of God and to help mold us into what God created us for. It is to prepare us to join Him in eternity. But these seasons can be long, cold, and bitter winters or scorching-dry summers. But we grow. We go through the pruning and trimming and fruitful seasons abundant in the love of our King.

There is a beautiful place even greater than the Garden of Eden that our Father has prepared for us, and we will get there! This book will hopefully help you embrace the growing and planting process we are in while we wait. Between the gardens is where we are, and whatever season you are in, you aren’t alone.

Introduction

The Space Between

The Bible talks about the Garden of Eden where it all began and the beautiful garden or place He has prepared for us in heaven. It’s the between part that I struggle with.

There is a lot that goes into gardening to create these beautiful gardens. Sometimes it’s not as easy as purchasing that flower and just digging a hole to plant it. You need to have the right soil, and it needs to be tilled or dug. Then we have to get dirty and pull out the stones or rocks from it to make a place for the roots to take. Then there is fertilizing and watering after the flowers are planted. After the roots have taken, it’s time to start enjoying the plants, but sometimes they need pruning. With fruits or vegetables, sometimes we have to cut those plants down to produce a good yield, not to mention constant weeding! We are those plants, and God is our gardener. Is this a book about the beautiful flowers and peaceful serenity of the garden? Nope! This is not that story! The space between the gardens has been down and dirty for us.

Life hasn’t gone the way I imagined it would. Anyone else out there understand that? From a failed, abusive marriage to struggles as a single mother trying to find my place in an unforgiving environment—I’m suspecting that I’m not the only one. As the hits just keep on coming, scripture and time with Jesus have been my only sanity. Through scripture, I have learned to embrace the trials and tribulations to see how God is pruning and growing me in Christ. Through crushing moments that seem to last a lifetime, He has used them to mold me and make me fruitful. I battled the emotions of feeling alone and guilt and not being worthy, and I also struggled with the whys of every situation. Many nights I have cried not knowing how I was going to feed my children. I bet many of you have had those nights. God’s grace and mercy have covered us through some impossible situations, and I bet He has covered you as well.

Let me share my story of tragedy, trials, and growth with you in hopes that it brings you comfort in your situations. The Master Gardener has been hard at work in my life and my family, and I hope that our story can encourage you and give you strength to bloom where you are planted.

Every day I count the blessings of my children, the sunshine, even the sparkle in the snow on these long Minnesota winters; but there are times when God is pruning me and testing me and even crushing me to build something better for His glory. I don’t have all the answers. I’m not a pastor’s wife. I’m a working mother, a daughter, a nurse, a widow, and a child of God. I have seen and been through things that I bet many of you have been through and have felt the way I felt—alone.

You aren’t alone. Yes, what people say that God is with you is so very true! But on this earth, it can sometimes not feel that way. You are not alone, and if my struggles help you to know that and find some peace, then I am happy to share them with you. This is my journey through the wilderness with the chastening of a good father to change me and lead me in my walk of faith and spiritual growth.

Through my years, I have been so blessed by the presence of God. He has come to me in some of my darkest hours, and the feeling of His presence is indescribable! But it has been in my darkest hours when I have sometimes wondered if that kind of suffering is worth the feeling of God’s presence. For me, it was and is. My struggles have built me into a better creation, a stronger mother, a better woman; but He’s not done with me yet. Walk in the garden with me as I move from a condemned, guilty woman covered in judgment and failure to a forgiven, worthy, successful, and loved child of God. This verse is our story. With only faith, God has seen us through exile and is bringing us to restoration.

And I will