These are songs sung in gardens. In Eden and exile. In Gethsemane and other lonely places. Steps away from Golgotha at both morning and noon. And from the edges of paradise, following the sound of rustling leaves from the tree of life.

Cheryl Velk’s intimate account of her walk with God across the terrain of the heart is ultimately his story more than hers. From childhood to midlife, the line between sacred and secular fading with every step, she shares with us words poured out between here and there. Her conversations with God, herself, and all of us taking the form of essays, poetry, songs, and prayers. As we witness a life devoted to God but still facing the challenges, questions, and sorrows of this life, we witness an unfolding discovery of God’s tenderness and faithfulness toward every life abandoned to him.

Though personal, Garden Songs: A Spiritual Formation Field Journal digs into God’s artistry not just in our own lives but in us as his family. When the risen Jesus was briefly, through tears, mistaken for a gardener that first Easter morning, it wasn’t entirely a mistake. He came to grow us like a garden—together. A garden God walks in again.