A Virtual Church

The Garden of Eden

July 31, 2011

“Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And God saw everything that he had made and behold it was very good.” The story told in Genesis 1 and 2 is that God set humankind in the Garden in Eden, and provided all they would need to flourish and prosper. Until the unfortunate choice to under value God’s providence and over-reach the limits God set, things were peachy and pear-y and apple-y and fig-y. What the Bible does not tell is that this same said garden is actually in Pamlico County, North Carolina. I discovered it the other day when I was picking figs. There in the heat of the North Carolina sun, hidden in leaves that could also be used for clothing, were the treasured fruit of the garden. Figs, Brown Turkey Figs, full, sweet, succulent, and ripe for the picking. The process is this: pick one, eat one, repeat. One bag for Joe. One bag for Cynthia. One bag for us. I remarked to Tom that I felt like Eve with clothes. Pure delight was there for the picking. It was enough-ness incarnate. God’s bounty is gift and blessing and when we are tuned to praise, we see God’s hand in all that is just hanging around for the picking. This is what was given to us at the beginning, a world of plenty in which to delight and praise God. The garden is a sweet reminder that all is God’s; you and I are simply passers by. O God, forgive those times when I have been dissatisfied in what is, and desirous of more than is mine to have. Forgive my greediness and pettiness; forgive the envy I bear that takes my eyes and heart from the joy of your creation. Open me again and again to the Garden of Eden that is in my back yard and fill my mouth with only thanksgiving and praise. Let me see your glory in every fig and peach of summer and feel your warmth on my back as I kneel to weed and pray. Amen.

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