It’s a place few like to visit, a cancer center, but this lush garden has become a haven of healing in my own heart over the last few weeks.

For 8 months now, I’ve been coming here to wander, ponder, and ask questions. When it’s time to leave, I lean over the balcony rails, breathing in the humidity from the cascading falls and blowing out prayers for the people who find their fate here today.

A few weeks ago, a nudge from the Spirit prompted me into a detour here. As I curiously wandered through the palms and gardens, I found cafe tables and benches spread throughout. Then, the aroma of fresh coffee brewing caught my attention and led me to a small setup hidden in this jungle.

The menu was complete with pastries and drinks. “They call this place ‘The Oasis’,” said a man behind the counter. “You must be the owner,” I replied. “Yes, I’ve been here 13 years in May, and I know more people in this building I think than anyone else employed,” he chuckled from around his espresso machine. I introduced myself and placed a meager order; “small, black, please.”

What a place, I thought to myself. This is where the hurt find some solace of healing, I concluded.

A man trimming leaves walked by. “Hi,” I waved. Glen’s landscaping work brought him to Nashville from Florida, but he was born in New York. Glen wasn’t a believer, and I had no reputation to lose. So I asked to pray over some of his story, the worries, his family. In the middle of him giving me names to pray over, his phone rang. It was Taylor Swift’s ‘people’. Glen is in charge of landscaping inside the superstar’s condo. Interesting! I’ve heard of her (ha!).

Vowing to God that I’d be back on my lunch breaks, this journey of meeting new people, hearing their pain, listening for prayers, going to war for them has been fascinating. It’s been a privilege! Leslie is surrounded by cancer. Her husband died of the disease 5 years ago, her son died of it, her new boyfriend now has it, and her best friend has been struggling with it. Leslie herself has multiple sclerosis and shingles.

Today, Hank, 92, had some tests done on his health. He’s a World War II vet, a prisoner of war, wounded in the Battle of the Bulge, and sat on a bench behind me with his son. Upon seeing the palm trees surrounding us, Hank asked his son if he’d ever heard Joel Osteen talk about why a palm tree is suited for the South. In a short tone, his son replied, “No.” Hank tried to share more but couldn’t seem to remember the story. Things were quiet. So I closed my book, turned to Hank, and obliged, “I remember what Joel Osteen said. It’s because palms have many short roots and heavier topsoil so they can bend. Oaks have fewer roots that go deeper, so an oak would snap.”

Hank’s eyes lit up. Over the next 30 minutes, Hank told me about his (astounding) journey through the war, his capture, burying 51 of his friends in the camp, his escape from a compound, and the best tasting vegetable soup he’s never forgotten. Hank’s appointment buzzer lit up. It was his turn to see the doctor. As the two men were walking away, Hank’s son turned to me and said, “Thank you for listening to all that. It’s more than he usually gets.”

Hank is a Christian, praise God. It’s the son I’m praying over.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Matthew 9:37