1.
Introduction
'The Secret Garden' was published in 1909 by
Frances Hodgson Burnett, a British-American novelist.
The novel has a touching story that dying
lives revive. The restoration of life! When and how can we
experience the heart-pounding moment?
2. Summary
Mary Lennox, a ten-year-old girl, was born and
raised in India. Her parents had died of the epidemic Cholera.
After that, she came to Misselthwaite Manor, her
uncle Mr. Craven's place in Yorkshire, England.
Mary had been not well and a spoilt child.
Anyone had never liked her at all in India.
In
Misselthwaite, she got associated with a maidservant Martha, an old gardener
Ben and a red-breasted robin. The f8nellowship got her better in body and mind.
This manor had a secret garden, where nobody had
been allowed to enter in the past decade.
It used to be Mrs. Craven's garden. She was sitting on a tree branch when it broke, and she fell. She was so severely hurt that she finally died.
Mr. Craven
had closed the garden since she died. He wouldn't let anyone talk about the
garden.
One day, Mary happened to find a key to the
secret garden, thanks to a robin.
She
got into it and began looking after the desolate land. Dickon, the brother of
maidservant Martha, helped her.
Mary heard the faint sound of a child crying at
night. She asked the servants about it, but no one would tell her.
The
child was Colin, Mr. Craven's son. He grew up hearing that he would die before
reaching adulthood due to his weak back. He was always sitting in his
wheelchair.
But a famous doctor had been to see the son, and
he said Colin would be OK. Nevertheless, the poor child was scared of his dark
destiny.
One night, Mary, following the cry, met up
Colin. She took him to the secret garden that she was cultivating. Colin first
experienced the joy of planting life there.
He became healthy, and he could walk on his own without a wheelchair, not long after.
Colin called it magic.
When Mr. Craven returned home, he was surprised
to see his son, who had changed completely. Colin told his dad that he would never rely on a
wheelchair again.
With all the servants watching, Mr. Craven
walked home across the lawn with Colin, a strong and upright as any boy in
Yorkshire.
3. Lessons
(1) Revival of Life
The Misselthwaite Manor that became Mary's
new home used to be a place of darkness, where life had been gone for a long
time.
The
life of the house came back when Mary opened the door of the secret garden.
The writer reveals the restoration of life one
by one.
First, the life of Mary, who everyone hated in
India, then the life of Colin, who was forgotten by all, and last, the life of
Mr. Craven, who wandered alone after his wife died.
This story reminds us of the recovery of life
that we see in Ezekiel 47 of the Bible.
The
water flowing out of the temple rose to the ankle, knee, waist of the person,
and finally became a river enough to swim and cross.
Wherever
the water flowed and touched, the work of restoring life took place.
Therefore, when we meet our neighbors who are
losing their light of life, we can find words to encourage them through this
novel.
" If you have a secret garden in your life,
open it first."
(2) The Life of Helping Neighbors
We see people who are killing or harming others
for their benefit. They insist that in a competitive society, they can survive
only in that way.
The
path may bring them money or power right now, but it will end up ruining their
future eventually.
Proverbs 14:12 leads us to that lesson.
"There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end, it leads to
death." (NIV)
If so, what should we do to help ourselves?
Unlike the worldly view, the Bible teaches that helping neighbors is the way of
helping myself.
Jesus says, "Love your neighbor as
yourself."(Mark 12:31) But that's not the end. Furthermore, the Lord says,
"love your enemies." (Matthew 5:44)
Proverbs 25:21 has the same lesson. "If
your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to
drink."
When doing this, the promise of verse 22 will
bless us. “The Lord will reward you.”
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