As I raise my children, I have noticed something interesting.
They LOVE mud. They LOVE to forage and collect bits of nature. They LOVE experiencing the rain and wind and sun and all of God's weather. But best of all, they LOVE to eat food right off the bushes and vines and out of the dirt.
My son's favorite toys, from the time he learned to walk were: STICKS.
He has a total meltdown if one of his friends takes one of the sticks- we're talking total complete meltdown. He could care less about the expensive toys he gets for Christmas. If he can't build with it - he doesn't play with it. My daughters collect and carry tiny stones and seeds and flowers. They build little dioramas around the house and yard as they explore. It is adorable to watch them build a little world and act out different stories.
He has a total meltdown if one of his friends takes one of the sticks- we're talking total complete meltdown. He could care less about the expensive toys he gets for Christmas. If he can't build with it - he doesn't play with it. My daughters collect and carry tiny stones and seeds and flowers. They build little dioramas around the house and yard as they explore. It is adorable to watch them build a little world and act out different stories.
Which leads me to my question- WHY a GARDEN?
God has commanded me to care for my children in HIS ways.
What did He provide for His children upon their first excursion into this mortal world?
Did He build them a beautiful mansion full of fancy light-up toys and every useful convenience?
No.
8 ¶ And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the gardenof Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
18 ¶ And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Instead he planted a garden and commanded them to learn how to care for it.
To learn the skills they would need when they left the garden.
What did He provide for His children upon their first excursion into this mortal world?
Did He build them a beautiful mansion full of fancy light-up toys and every useful convenience?
No.
8 ¶ And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the gardenof Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
18 ¶ And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Instead he planted a garden and commanded them to learn how to care for it.
To learn the skills they would need when they left the garden.
- How to work,
- how to wait until the fruit is ripe
- how to listen to their body's signals
- and most of all, to turn to Him always.
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