A Place to Rest His Head

Earlier this summer, my 10-year-old son Zachary and I went to visit my “forever friend,” Colleen (we’ve known each other since we were toddlers), at her home in Shark River Hills, NJ, which is the neighborhood where she and I grew up together. Shark River Hills is about 3 miles from the beach at Avon-by-Sea, NJ - one of my favorite places on the planet.

While at Colleen’s house, Zach and I got to share one of those rare mornings with no particular time schedule and nothing particular to do except spend time together. It turned out to be one of those even rarer mornings where Zach actually wanted to hang out with me and pray together.

As we prayed with the morning Mass readings, this passage in the Gospel stood out to me:

A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” - Matthew 8:19-20

That last line, which of course we’ve read and heard countless times, struck me hard that particular morning… “but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest His head.” Zach felt it too and commented how sad it is that Jesus has nowhere to rest. We both resolved to BE that place of rest and respite where Jesus can come and lay His head.

The Interior Garden

If you’ve been around this blog for a while or around our Hope’s Garden community, you’ve no doubt experienced a lot of garden imagery and heard plenty of talk about "the garden of our hearts." I must admit, recently I’ve allowed some old weeds to take root again and perhaps have not been as diligent with the pruning as I need to be. But our Lord, in His goodness, didn’t waste any time after my prayerful morning with Zach in reminding me that my interior space needs a little maintenance work in order to make it a delightful resting place for Him!

The very next day, as I was in quiet meditation with Jesus, He led me to a book that I had not opened in quite a while, Sky-Blue the Sapphire, Crimson the Rose,* which is a collection of, and commentary on, John of Forde’s sermons on The Song of Songs.

I asked the Lord what He wanted to read to me and then opened the book right to a chapter titled, The Garden of the Soul. Therein, John teaches that prayer is like a garden in that it needs constant attention, “If you desire Jesus to visit your soul in time of prayer, you must surround yourself with the hedge of self-control, put a guard on the things you look at, keep your tongue from careless chatter, and be sparing in food, drink, and sleep.”

My thoughts went immediately to my conversation with Zach and the Gospel verse we had pondered together. Ooof, message received Lord. Time to put on the gardening boots, roll up my sleeves and get to work in there with You!

John of Forde tells us that for the garden of one’s soul to flourish, we must “pull up the weeds of evil inclinations, digging up roots with frequent compunction, planting the seeds of meekness and humility.” This garden, when rich with blossoming herbs and flowers, “is strongly scented enough to draw Him by its fragrance.”

"God does not fit in an occupied heart.” – St. John of the Cross

I know I’ve shared the above quote before; it's one of my favorites. It’s straightforward, easy to remember, as well as provocative and even poignant.

Lord, show me what occupies my heart! Show me what is going on in there that hinders the good growth: “evil inclinations,” vice, unhelpful or unholy thought patterns. I long for my heart – my inmost being – to be a resting place of delights for You. I long to draw You to me by the fragrance of holiness and virtue. I know we have a long way to go, but I have complete confidence in You, Lord!

Will you pray that prayer with me? Could we commit to, together with the Lord, examine our hearts regularly, identifying the weeds and gently uprooting them with His guidance? Could we together, seek our Blessed Mother’s guidance as we resolve to plant the seeds of meekness and humility (and any other virtue that our Lord may ask us to focus on)?

Let us wholeheartedly accept His invitation in cultivating more beautiful, more spacious, and more fragrant interior gardens, that our very beings become – and remain - a place for our Lord to rest His head.

Copyright, 2025 De Yarrison, You Are Made New Ministry

While we are planting seeds…Father Steve DeLacy and I are currently creating a new self-paced course for our online classroom on the topic of Deliverance and Freedom. Session 3 focuses on the development of virtue and overcoming vice as, not only an important part of our spiritual lives, but also essentials for our deliverance from the effects of evil spirits. The course will be released later this Fall!

* Sky-Blue the Sapphire, Crimson the Rose, Stillpoint of Desire in John of Forde by Hilary Costello, OCSO.