by Del Hungerford

This experience came about right after my new book, “Accessing the Kingdom Realms” was published (2018). It’s all about revisiting a previous encounter to glean more understanding from the original experience. I talk about that process in the blog post Beavers and Scrolls. 

For the entire month that I was deciding which encounters to include in the book, re-engaging those experiences, choosing a cover, and working with the editor, my daily engagement experiences focused on sitting with Jesus and Papa on a park bench. My head resting in their laps, I could feel the energy flowing from them into me. It seemed odd that I would spend an entire month like this but I knew there was a plan. Not only was I re-engaging the experiences in the book but it seemed simultaneously, I was sitting with both Jesus and Papa in two separate encounters but the same location at the same time. To my human mind, that didn’t quite make sense. Brain Fry!

What’s a heart garden? It’s a place of deep intimacy in the core of your being where you commune with the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). You can spend time with all three of them separately or together. You share your innermost thoughts with each other and, you can even plant things! There’s an experience in Accessing the Kingdom Realms where I get to plant one of my favorite trees. But for that story, you’ll need to purchase the book. Without further babbling on, enjoy this addendum to my stories from Accessing the Kingdom Realms.

My Personal Heart Garden

I step into my heart garden, into the presence of The Father, who allows me to call Him "Papa," and Jesus. I see myself with both of them at the same time but yet we’re not together. I understand this to be separate realms. I see it but lack understanding in how it works.

Then, without notice, the two scenes come together where Jesus and Papa both get up off the bench at the same time. My Camperdown elm tree in the garden is now almost as large as the ones on the U of I campus. For a moment, I wonder if this time lapse from when I first planted this tree in my heart garden until now is an actual representation of when I was in college through the current time. My heart garden Camperdown elm was close to the size of the Camperdown elms on campus when I was attending college in the early 1980’s. It seems that the time in the spirit covers the time in my life from about 1980 through the present.

The Camperdown elm is one of my favorite trees. As students, we'd stand under these trees when it rained outside and we were waiting for people. I find it interesting that things we delight in tend to show up in our heart garden!

“That whole time of your life, you were covered by My love.” He whispers softly into my ear.

He continues, “And, you saw it play out before you in the spirit while resting your head on our laps… Yes, the Camperdown elm tree in your heart garden was close to the same size as the ones by Ridenbaugh while you were in college."

I think about this for a moment, remembering how much we enjoyed those trees. Even then, they were like umbrellas.

Jesus sees my delight in this memory and continues, "While resting your head on Papa’s chest for a month under that tree in your garden, it continued to grow and cover you. It’s a representative of how the Father’s love covered you… even during the time of your marriage.”

“I understand and appreciate this pictorial lesson to help me feel the constant and deep love of the Father.” I reply while leaning against Jesus’ chest as He gives me a great big bear hug.

Shutting my journal, I sit amazed at how seeing myself in the spirit for a whole month was about covering the last forty years of my life. I know there’s something significant to that and as time goes, I’ll understand more.

(Journal entry from 2016)

The lesson in this

As in the book, I’ll provide a lesson here. This encounter was short, sweet and to the point. What I garnered from it was how the Camperdown elm (one of my favorite trees) in real life mirrored what I’d planted in the spirit. Then, over time the “covering” it provided in the spirit also mirrored the covering and protection I received during a nearly 40-year span in my life. In the book, I got to plant one of these majestic trees in my heart garden, right by the bench where I usually sit with the Trinity and those within the cloud of witnesses. My heart garden seems to be a favorite hangout!

When you read the book, you’ll find many references to my marriage. A failed marriage is tough to work through. If you want to read about that experience, my book “…But Words Will Never Hurt Me: A Story of Overcoming Abuse” is available on Amazon. My understanding of why this situation continues to come up in my encounters has everything to do with continued healing. Papa wants us to be whole and when things from our past negatively affect us, it’s difficult to move into all that He has for us in the next season of our lives. Basically, he “reveals to heal.” So, when you see junk from your past come up in your encounters, Papa is generally showing you a gentle way into healing.

What really struck me about this encounter? When you go through junk in life and wonder how you lived through some of it, it’s nice to know that Papa was right there beside you providing a protective covering. It was up to me to see that protection and take a hold of it. Sometimes I did and sometimes I didn’t. You can bet now that I know more about how this all works, I’m probably going to have that constant anchor point of a Camperdown elm tree and what it represents for me in my life! With that, I planted a Camperdown elm in my back yard in 2011. Unfortunately, that tree is no longer with me because the State of Idaho built a highway over that property. No need to fear, I have another Camperdown elm to replace it!

What Does YOUR Heart Garden Look Like?

Imagine your dream home. There are rooms, a yard, possibly a garage or carport, and in many cases, gardens. You may live on acreage completely surrounded by forests. If you could live anywhere in any house, what would it look like? Imagine that place with all the amazing things outside! Would it be a ranch? What about a castle? What rooms would you like to see in it? What will the outside look like? Come on! Get your imagination working so you can picture in your mind what this all looks like!

Some people think this stuff is crazy but if you think about it, God shows us stuff based on what we know. In the Bible, Jesus taught in parables. Those were stories that people could relate to. Those stories provided images that came attached with a lesson. People understood what was being said because Jesus knew how to bring everything down to their level of understanding. Therefore, why would Jesus not do the same thing now? God did the same thing in the Old Testament. God speaks to each person right where they're at. Of course, there are times we don't understand everything but as we dig deeper, understanding comes. 

We can all visualize houses and what they look like. Many teachers use homes to describe the body because there are many parts that come together. As an example, in the New Testament, it says that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It's a dwelling place where we meet with God, just like the Israelites did in the Old Testament. Our body is literally the "house of God." Each of the various sections (spirit, soul, and body) has a specific purpose or purposes. This is likened to the different gateways of the spirit, soul, and body. Each gateway sits within the spirit, soul, or body. To learn more about that, check out my Mountains, Gates, and Castles course.  

Now, imagine your being (spirit, soul, and body) is the temple, which is like a house. Visualize what that looks like with all the surrounding areas. This might be a good time to journal what you see, hear, sense, and feel. There's always going to be a peaceful place for "rest." For many people, it's a garden. Now, visualize a perfect garden that fits your tastes. It includes your favorite vegetables, flowers, trees, etc. This place is in your heart, thus, the words "heart garden." It's that intimate place where you commune with God from the very depths of your being. It's the "holy of holies" of your being where spirit resides. 

ACTIVATION!

It's time to explore your personal heart garden! There's enough explanation above to get your creative imagination started. I suggest that you do this as often as possible and each time, build upon what you saw and experienced before. You read how that worked for me so now it's your turn.

• Get into that quiet place where your wrapped in Perfect Love and feeling the emotion of gratitude. It's important to be in this place as you sanctify the imagination.
• See yourself with Jesus, or the Father. Even if you can't see them, sense them. Or, just do it by faith. Many times, I saw nothing but did it anyway simply by faith. Eventually, more comes but you have to be consistent and persistent.
• Visualize the most beautiful garden you've ever seen. What is it you want to see in a garden? What should be planted there? Look around and see where those things are located.
• Where is Jesus? Is there a place where the two of you can sit? If so, go take a seat and begin a conversation with Him.
• Notice the things in this garden, which is really your heart garden. You are creating it as you imagine it. Write about it so you remember what's there and where things are located. It may not make sense now but in the future, it might. 
• Somewhere in the garden is the River of Life. It's what "waters" everything in your garden. Next to the river is a bench where you can sit with members of the Trinity to have conversations. Be sure to have your journal with you during these times.
• You'll begin to notice certain things are in certain places for a specific reason. You may be asked at some point to bring things to your heart garden like I was with certain scrolls (Beavers and Scrolls blog post). 

NOTE: This can go on for a long time over periods of years. Although it may seem silly, the point here is to practice being in that intimate place with the Trinity. It's where you build relationship beyond what's in the Bible. You hear, sense, feel, and see in real time what the Lord is saying to you. The imagination can be a wonderful tool that's a launching pad to discovery. I bet every time you read the Bible, you get a picture in your mind of what you're reading. If you can do that, then this isn't so silly after all. The key is to enjoy the journey!

Happy Practicing!

Del