THE MASTER GARDENER

God plopped Adam down in the middle of a bountiful Garden with plans of turning him into a gardener. “This is gonna be easy-peasy, Adam” God said. “All you have to do is take care of these two trees. One will give you life, the other will bring a curse.”

You know how the story goes.  Like a coupla knuckleheads, Adam and Eve chose the cursed tree. Why? Because it wasn't enough for them to be “like” God... they wanted to actually BE God. 

A boneheaded move that got their shamefully naked butts kicked out of The Garden. 

As time passed, the original sin multiplied. People grew more and more evil, carelessly squandering chances of mercy and redemption. God felt like he was watching ALL the Shakespearean plays on an endless loop.

Finally fed up, God realized that only His Son could save us. And by us, I mean you and me. Humanity. All the little children of the world.

So God gave us Baby Jesus, all wrapped up in swaddles. He didn't send Him here to change the world, though the world changed because He was here.  God sent Jesus to change hearts and cultivate souls. And He was really good at it. So much so that He became a threat to the status quo.

Knowing his days were literally numbered, Jesus went to a Garden to pray. But He got kicked out of that Garden and was taken away to be jailed, tortured and nailed to a cross.

Then, as Bob Goff says, “Darkness fell. His friends scattered. All hope seemed lost. But heaven just started counting to three." And when Mary Magdalene went to anoint His lifeless body, she found an empty tomb. She was so shocked that she asked the tall stranger standing next to her if He had seen anything. She didn't recognize Him as Jesus.  She thought He was... wait for it... the Gardener. (John 20:1-18) 

God is just cool like that.

He placed a Tree of Life in the original Garden with a really crappy gardener.  Humanity Fallen.

He allowed Jesus to be taken from a Garden and crucified on a cross-shaped tree. Humanity Forgiven. 

Can you guess what's gonna happen next?  You don't have to guess.  God tells us.

Heaven will come down and there will be a New Garden, complete with it's very own Tree of Life. Humanity Fortified.  

For Eternity. 

Then the angel showed me the river of the Water of Life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the Tree of Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. AND THE LEAVES OF THE TREE ARE FOR THE HEALING OF THE NATIONS. (Revelation 22:1-2) 

There it is – in the very last chapter of Revelation. After scaring the actual hell out of us, John ends Revelation with an awesome description of the New Heaven and Earth and... WOW! Not only do we get streets paved with gold, we get a Fruit of the Month Tree! With magic leaves!! 

God's Garden comes full circle. Perfection Glorified. Eden is restored and the Tree of Life is replanted  smack dab in the middle of a heavenly paradise of perpetuity. 

Now, I don't pretend to understand everything in Revelation, but I know one thing for sure: this earth will pass away. All the war and brokenness, disease and dying? Gone! One-ply toilet paper and clingy plastic wrap? Gone! Pesky mosquitoes and flatulence? Gone and gone! Every single bit of ugliness will be gone. God will vanquish sin and darkness from this world and usher a cleansing, purifying, sentient light into the Garden. 

The light of heaven is our future... and we should plan for it like there's no tomorrow. Instead of  fighting over political elections, we should claim the victory He has already promised. Instead of worrying about sagging skin and bemoaning a neck that has just given up, we should get excited about the perfect body that is to come! And when you pray?  Go right on ahead and boldly thank God for answering that prayer. Because where we are going, the battle is over.  Not only has it been fought, it's been WON. Claim your dang victory! Slap that crown on your head and plant your feet on the finish line! 

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8) 

"All who have longed for His appearing..." There's our hope. Prepare for it. Reach for it. Long for it. Don't stay stuck in the past or get lost in the present - our hope is for the future. Stop jousting with windmills and start claiming the promises that await you. Stop punching paper tigers and turning clay-footed mortals into heroes. Direct your energy towards the hope that is promised for the healing of our nations. 

The Bible begins with a Tree of Life placed in a perfect garden, tended by imperfect gardeners. It ends with a Tree of Life in an even more perfect garden, and this time it is tended by the Master Gardener, one who is able to sustain a tree full of Healing Leaves. 

I see no reason to wait for that promise, do you?  Lord knows our nation could use a bit of healing.  WE can be the Healing Leaves – He will give us that power if we only ask and believe...

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.

CHANGE YOUR FOCUS...

I snapped this picture from my upstairs window today.

It's  just been one of Those Days, y'all. Cold and drizzly and overcast.  Earlier in the evening we were under a tornado watch. Tornado.Watch.

It's October, for Pete's sake!

But I really don't mind Days Like This. In fact, I kinda love them. Days Like This don't happen that often in Texas... there's plenty of sunshiny days on the High Plains. 

Way more than our frigid neighbors 3000 miles to the northeast-ish. 

We recently went on a cruise to Alaska. Everybody warned us we would love it, but... WOW! Mere words did not prepare me for the sensory assault that blasted forth from our 49th state. The scenic beauty was so breathtaking that it literally made my chest hurt.

Alaska is ridiculously beautiful. So much so, that about halfway through our trip, I began daydreaming about moving to one of the quaint towns we visited along the Inside Passage. I had it all figured out:  we would buy a cozy little cottage close to the mooses (meeses?) but not-so-close to the bears... I would fill my closet full of  flannel shirts and my drawers with CuddlDuds and if I ran out of money, I'd find me a couple o' lumberjacks in need of a Physical Therapist. Or – even better – I could put the Dickman's superior marketing skills to use selling *gummy bears* to all the retired tourists with wonky joints or whatnot. The possibilities were endless!

Until I was reminded that for several months of the year, there are only 3-7 hours of sunshine each day.

Womp.  Womp.  A little bit of darkness goes a looooooong way...

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September marked six months since my plaque radiation surgery, which meant I could finally get some new glasses! My vision had changed greatly since that pesky little tumor had reared its ugly head. Slowly but surely, the vision in my right eye has improved from 20/1200 to - wait for it - 20/50!!!  Since my favorite optometrist was still in New Mexico holding my grandbabies hostage, I made an appointment with my second favorite Eye Guy.   I couldn't wait!

After going through several indecisive minutes of,  “Which is better... one or two?  One... or two?...

Q:  How many optometrists does it take to change a light bulb?  

         A:  Is it one or two?  One... or two?? 

...My second favorite optometrist was finally able to show me how much better I would see with my new prescription. Though the acuity of my vision will continue to improve, there is an area of permanent loss to my lower right field of vision.  And I see red as yellow-ish.  But hey... as long as a red-dressed midget doesn't try to sneak up on my right, I'm good! 

Because even though my faulty cones (or is it rods?) tell my brain the stoplight is yellow... I can still depend on it to be red.  Which means I should definitely stop, instead of go faster.

And you know what else? Even if I had been completely blind when the Dickman took me to Alaska, all he had to do was describe the mountains or the eagle in flight or that glimpse of the whale's tail flipping in the brilliant blue water.  And even though I would have missed the splendor of the majesty... I still would know that I was surrounded by beauty. 

Because it's what I would've expected to see... what my heart wanted to see. What's more, those loooooooong days of darkness wouldn't have bothered me. If I had never known what sunshine looked like, the endless days of darkness would not have felt so cold and... hopeless. 

And isn't that just the perfect metaphor for These Days? 

Some Days, even when the sun is shining brightly, it's hard to see the warmth. Even Those Days that are filled with light can seem dark and cold and... hopeless. 

It doesn't have to be that way, you know. 

We only need to focus. Our blindness comes from fixing our eyes on the things that are seen, rather than things unseen. Things like Goodness & Mercy, Faith & Hope. And of course, the Greatest of These... 

Love. 

Every moment can be a gift from God, if we'll just change our focus.