“Earth is crammed with heaven, but only he, who sees, takes off his shoes. The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.”
(Elizabeth Barrett Browning)
"View's of a Garden"
When I first read this quote I was moved to dwell on it for quite a while. I envisioned two different scenarios working in one single environment.
One for those who see the Lord in all things, and one for those who do not.
Please make no mistake, I am not talking about Pantheism when I say...”the Lord in all things”…, but am talking about God/Christ’s reflection of himself in all things that he has created.
Some people see the glory of God in the world around them, but few see his glory in all the things that surround them.
Some people (mostly those who have no relationship with the Lord) walk around daily, clueless to their surroundings and Gods involvement with their lives. These people have no
understanding why they’re unhappy or unsatisfied.
Having said all of that, lets move on to the scenarios…………………………………………………….
1. There once was a beautiful garden and through this garden ran a beautifully manicured path. The path was about four foot wide and was layered with small dark mulch. At each side
of the path and behind, as far as you could see was the lushest vegetation imaginable, but forward of the path, the growth extended only a short distance.
There also was a Man who stood in the midst of the path.
Now out in front of the man, past where the vegetation grew, was an endless desert where no vegetation existed. Snakes slithered through the hot sands and life seemed as distant as
the stars. Extreme heat radiated from the sands distorting the distant view. The desert was desolate.
Now as the man looked about him he noticed that all of the vegetation in the garden was pristine and perfect. Not a dead leaf or twig existed. He saw that at the edges of the trail were
small clumps of flowers and small fruit bearing bushes and flowering shrubs. Flowers of all types and species were abloom everywhere. Beautiful flowering vines were growing up the
trees in a way that seemed harmonic, not choking. Everything was in perfect balance.
He gloried at how the sunlight reflected off of the little beads of dew. He curiously wondered at the droplets as they balanced ever so gently on the leaves, holding his breath for a
moment, in fear as if his breath alone might cause them to slide off to the ground.
Above him the sky was clear and was a special color of blue he wasn’t sure he had ever seen before, and the air sweet and clean like the first hint of autumn. There were just a few
small puffy white clouds in the sky and they also seemed as if they had been personally placed as to not interfere with the view above.
Birds were everywhere and their songs seemed to harmonize as one song and rise past the sky into the heavens.
As his view fell back to earth, he noticed at the edge of the path, there was a small round bush with small white flowers. Each of the flowers consisted of four petals. As the man was
looking at the bush each of the flowers started dropping its petals, and as they hit the ground they were immediately absorbed into the soil, leaving no trace that they ever had existed.
The man squatted down to view the bush more closely and right before his eyes, where each of the flowers had been, large black berries emerged. The man reached and plucked the
closest berry and placed it into his mouth. Sweet juice burst forth into his mouth. It was like nothing he had ever tasted. It was the most pleasurable fruit he had ever eaten and seemed
to instantly nourish him.
The man removed his shoes and fell to his knees and lifted his arms to the sky. “Oh my Lord and my God” he cried, “How wonderful is all of your creation, your glory is reflected in all
the works of your hand. How is it Oh Lord that you find me worthy to behold such sites with these eyes, for I see your glory Oh Lord in the sky above, in the garden before me, in the
flowers and in the dew you’ve placed on the leaves. You nourish me Lord with the fruit you that you have placed before me. Surely my every step is on Holy ground.”
For all that the man beheld, he gave glory to God.
Now the man rose from his knees, and as he walked forward down the path, the vegetation would emerge right from the ground constantly extending the garden where the mad walked.
Fruit, trees and flowers continued to sprout right from the earth below the man whenever he walked forward, and always the garden went before him.
And the man continually worshiped the Lord and never feared the desert, which went out before the garden.
The man acknowledged that the Lord provided for him in all ways, that everything in the garden was provided for his nourishment, protection and enjoyment. That Gods provisions were
an act of love towards him. This mans realization of Gods love and his being immersed in that love enabled him to love in return. And in loving the Lord, he loves all of the Lords
creations.
2. Quite a ways back down the path walks another man.
The man looks up to the sky and squints at the bright sunlight and wishes he had brought his sunglasses. Grumbling he hopes that none of those birds flying aimlessly above do their
business on him. He can barely think with all of the noise they’re making.
As he walks he stops occasionally and picks a few berries. They’re good, but he dislikes getting his hands wet from the dew on the leaves. He sees the fruit on the other trees and
bushes further into the garden, but doesn’t want to get off of the path to get it.
Up ahead on the path sits a large stone under a large tree, and the man stops there to rest.
“When will this garden ever end”, he asks his self. “I’m hot, I’m tired, and sick of berries. If only I’d been born somewhere else, or to a different family with money. Why does this have to
be my life?”
The man wonders just how long will this life go on. He rises up from his seat and continues down the path, occasionally stopping to pick a few berries.
By: Bryan Woods
09/04/06
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