A Personal Garden
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife,and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; – Genesis 3:17-18.
I recall the exasperation of my first garden. I planted a variety of wildflowers thinking they would be easy for a first-time gardener to care for, and they would bring color to my yard. I did not anticipate how much they would resemble weeds.
I researched the plants I knew I was supposed to have. I studied what they should look like at each stage and protected everything resembling the pictures.I yanked those certain to be weeds. Too many fell in between. A healthy garden required more conniving than I was capable of that year, and my first garden became a tangle of mostly weeds. The tulips and daffodils I planted for the following year were much more recognizable and easier to manage.
The man in God’s garden had some wild story to tell God when asked what he had done. The man didn’t just blame the woman. He had also blamed God for creating her. [See Genesis 3:12.] What a vivid imagination! This passing of responsibility required intricate rationalization.
This man’s talent for rationalization needed an outlet. God’s garden wasn’t enough challenge for him. God’s garden had few weeds. The man’s focus was on nurturing and pruning. In those days, the man didn’t have to work for his food.All he needed to do was reach out and pluck fruit from any tree whenever he wanted it.
Food was a good motivator for the man. The land that the man would eat from would be land with thistles and thorns, nasty weeds. He would now have to connive against the weeds to nurture the plants that provide his food. If he didn’t weed, the weeds would take over and strangle his food-producing plants, and he and the woman would starve.
Life would not be simple again. The man showed God he was capable of conniving,so God put him in a world that required it.
SAY THIS: Almighty God, every time we create an excuse, we are conniving. Every time we connive, we stretch the truth. Help us to face everything with more honesty and responsibility. When we do, our road will be easier because you will smile at us and with us. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer.Gratefully, In Jesus Loving Name I Pray, Amen.”
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife,and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; – Genesis 3:17-18.
I recall the exasperation of my first garden. I planted a variety of wildflowers thinking they would be easy for a first-time gardener to care for, and they would bring color to my yard. I did not anticipate how much they would resemble weeds.
I researched the plants I knew I was supposed to have. I studied what they should look like at each stage and protected everything resembling the pictures.I yanked those certain to be weeds. Too many fell in between. A healthy garden required more conniving than I was capable of that year, and my first garden became a tangle of mostly weeds. The tulips and daffodils I planted for the following year were much more recognizable and easier to manage.
The man in God’s garden had some wild story to tell God when asked what he had done. The man didn’t just blame the woman. He had also blamed God for creating her. [See Genesis 3:12.] What a vivid imagination! This passing of responsibility required intricate rationalization.
This man’s talent for rationalization needed an outlet. God’s garden wasn’t enough challenge for him. God’s garden had few weeds. The man’s focus was on nurturing and pruning. In those days, the man didn’t have to work for his food.All he needed to do was reach out and pluck fruit from any tree whenever he wanted it.
Food was a good motivator for the man. The land that the man would eat from would be land with thistles and thorns, nasty weeds. He would now have to connive against the weeds to nurture the plants that provide his food. If he didn’t weed, the weeds would take over and strangle his food-producing plants, and he and the woman would starve.
Life would not be simple again. The man showed God he was capable of conniving,so God put him in a world that required it.
SAY THIS: Almighty God, every time we create an excuse, we are conniving. Every time we connive, we stretch the truth. Help us to face everything with more honesty and responsibility. When we do, our road will be easier because you will smile at us and with us. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer.Gratefully, In Jesus Loving Name I Pray, Amen.”