Man's Role in Life - The Garden
My husband and I like to take walks, and our favorite place to go is Banner Forest, very near our home. There are so many lovely wild trails. I go to the woods for inspiration, and this morning, with the cool Pacific Northwest breeze chilling my face, the mist coating the air with a musty scent, and the subtle green of the fir trees, I got to thinking.
There are two kinds of gardens in this world. there is the man-made garden. The one with neatly mowed lawns, rock beds filled with flowers, neatly pruned hedges. Gardens that have been manicured, often poisoned to keep the weeds away, (unfortunately, and hence make them incompatible with bees and butterflies) but to the visitor they are impressive.
Man's first assignment on this earth was to take care of the garden. I do not know if the Creator understood where that would lead to, if He knew it would lead to environmental concerns or not, but what I do know is that human beings demand control. Granted many contained gardens are lovely and I'm not saying they aren't I'm just equating this to how people handle their lives.
I was thinking how this relates to other things in life. When humans have the power to tend to something their primary method is control, especially when it concerns governing others. Prune them, contain them, prevent the undesirables from invading them by any means possible.
When God grows a garden, He lets his plants grow free. He does not judge one species above another. His world is open, unprejudiced to all. To me, God's garden is not only beautiful, but breathes life, and I love to walk in it. My grandson thinks I'm daft because I talk to trees, but they're alive and have a meaningful presence here in this world.
Maybe I'm too radical, especially in my old age. But I come home from a walk in God's garden more refreshed than in any park like setting. I love the freedom there, the harmony between one plant and another, the gifting of them all to nourish each other. It seems to me this is how human beings should live.
