In 1912, as Charles Austin Miles grabbed his Bible, it opened to John 20.
Reading the account of Mary Magdalene outside the garden tomb where Jesus’ body had been laid, Miles felt powerfully that he was there. Inspired, he quickly wrote the poem “In the Garden” and later composed the music.
This hymn might seem sentimental and trite if understood to refer to just any garden. But the song takes on profound meaning when recognized as Mary’s personal encounter with the living Lord.
And he walks with me, and he talks with me,
And he tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known!
NN 4.12