Skip to main content

Three Gardens--Part One: Searching for Eden


There is something in us all that is drawn to a garden. We spend hours on Pinterest, hundreds at Home Depot, and thousands on vacations and ventures, in search of finding or creating a little piece of paradise, where we can sink our toes into the cool grass and breathe in the fragrances that make us think, consciously or not, "This must be what Heaven is like."

This month, we will explore the root cause of such quests (no pun intended), by unraveling the mysterious connection between us and three particular gardens (in the Bible).

I was evidently taking a nap or hiding with a book somewhere when the green thumbs were passed out, so every season involves clearing away the wilted or crunchy attempts at gardening and replacing them with fresh unsuspecting little plants and blooms to improve my home's curb appeal (more like HGTV, less like the Munster's house). Nevertheless, I'm still THAT person who slows down to take pictures of fields of wildflowers, or, on a particularly weak day, I might even pull over and pick some for my table.

I'm also a hopeless nature nut. The greenbelt nature trail in my neighborhood is painfully suburban, the wind in the trees and birdsongs competing with nearby traffic noise and barking dogs, but there is something about it that lures me to a cool morning walk, makes me dreamy, and leaves me much calmer than when I walked in.

What is it about such places that draws us? Why is it that we find the wilderness and the woods so intriguing? There is a simple explanation. We were made, modeled, and intended for Eden. There, we were carefree, whole and unashamed. We walked and talked with God, face to face, as we would a dear friend and daily companion. There, he provided for our every need--physical, spiritual and intellectual. In Eden, we were safe and secure, without worries or fear, worlds away from anxiety, distress, and regret. It was a perfect place, where we had perfect peace, and we want that--we need it. We crave it. We long for Eden.

Nothing else can answer such a deeply innate craving. We try to fill it with distractions and amusements, racking up accomplishments and building our Facebook friends' list and social calendars, but the truth is this: there is no level of human affirmation that can take the place of friendship with God. Our quest for paradise is nothing more than a misinterpretation of what we really, truly, deeply need. We want to be back in Eden. And God wants to meet us there.

Whether you're in hot pursuit of your dreams and goals, or burning out, out on the run from past pain and future fears, one thing you need--and must find--is your Eden. Your quiet place with God. Talk with him. Walk with him. He wants to be your shelter, your refuge, your confidant.

"Trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge." --Psalm 62:8
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NEMESIS, TRAPS AND DIGRESSIONS, OH MY!

Let's begin at the beginning. You have challenges. You have issues. You have enemies. All of the above would be true for any of us -- from slacker to slave, from victim to hero -- but there is actually one very small but highly distinguishing characteristic: perspective. Yes, the thing that makes mountains out of molehills--and vice versa--is undoubtedly the key to success or failure, and the common thread through the story of every hero. Something interesting about perspective: it can be found, lost, and regained -- although sometimes elusive, it's always attainable.  Through the next week, we will explore the various things responsible for our lost perspective, and talk about how to get it back. I was about to say that there are three things that generally rob us of our proper perspective, but that would imply that it can be taken from us, by force. The fact is, unfortunately, we sometimes "lose" our perspective as easily as we misplace our keys, cell phone, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Getting Smarter

How can you be specific about your goals when they are just a bunch of vague, foggy, wishes, hopes and dreams? It's time to take that pie-in-the-sky endeavor down from its celestial pedestal and see if it tastes as good as it looks from afar. (Forgive me for bringing up desserts so early in your diet-shackled day)...Is it really, truly unachievable, or that your perception because you don't currently have the means or mechanisms to reach it? If there is a yellow-brick road to your dream, I promise you that underneath lies a foundation of solid research. It's the best preparation for turning those dreams into reality. Would we have ever reached the moon, or even this continent, without it? As brilliant and passionate as the explorers of Earth and space were, without their tedious hours buried in books at a drafting table, we would probably all still be back in the old world, and certainly never beyond it, thinking the Earth was flat and all of space was unattainable.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rise above it

When you are stuck the middle of the proverbial worst case scenario, living life in a joyful, productive way involves more than just wading through the hurts and horrors with merely your vital signs intact. I have been there—dreading the alarm clock, and literally dragging yourself to work with the solitary, lofty hope of making to 5:00 without quitting, jumping off the building, or throwing your coffee on someone. Don’t look for your worth among the feedback and flack of your workplace. Don’t allow your job’s daily ups and downs   to be the barometer of your spiritual well-being. Don’t let the pressure of looming deadlines, impossible expectations, and unreasonable demands turn your day into a heavy yoke you begrudgingly put on every day, weighing your head down and robbing you of a broader, higher view. You were intended for greater things than just surviving – you were designed for something better: thriving, in spite of it. Jesus said that He came to give us life—not...
Post a Comment
Read more