Dying to Save

Ok, so I originally posted this when no one was actually reading my blog (ha ha) and since I am feeling very under the weather today, I am going to cheat and re-post this today. 
I promise that I won't make a habit of it.
(altho since no one was reading back then, who would really know??? a-hem
Ok, ok...scout's honor.)

I wrote this for one of our 2008 Women's Retreat morning devos.

It is one of my personal faves, tho, so I wanted to share it here...

I truly hope you enjoy this simple encore!

Here's a little insight on me...gardening is NOT one of my spiritual gifts.

Really.

Over time, many well intentioned people have given me beautiful, little plants to help add beauty to my home and they have all met the same end….the bottom of our trash can. It really isn’t for lack of trying, either. I truly love plants and when they come to my house, I get this happiness that stirs deep down in my soul. I rush to put them in a place of honor, getting them proper sunlight and water. I even heard that talking to your plants is good for them because you are giving them "fresh" carbon dioxide, so I would go out of my way to talk to them first thing in the morning before I have brushed as I figure that must be the "freshest" air that I have to offer them! (maybe THAT was the problem???)

In all my life, I have only ever had one loyal plant.

It is beautiful.

It is green.

It is plastic.

All my failure in this area makes me stand even more in awe of God. He shows in the book of Genesis that He is a master gardener. He envisioned in His mind a planet ripe with living things and simply spoke it into being! He whispered and it appeared, exactly as He saw it. He filled the world with lush, green vegetation and called it "good".

Can you even imagine the beauty of God’s garden? The smell of unpolluted beauty as fresh as the morning dew that has just settled on the ripe vegetation? The splendor of Earth’s first sunset over the newly created horizon of trees and plant life? The strength of the animal’s calls as they echoed for the first time through the dense forest?

Just the thought of it all brings a tingle to my skin and a rapid beat to my heart. But what gets me even more is that He wasn’t done with just a beautiful garden full of well-behaved animals. He longed for more.

God desired love and nothing on this planet would satisfy the call of His heart and so He set to work on one last project. But this time, He would not use the power of His voice to call it into being. No, this time it was too personal to put into words…and so He set out to get "dirty".

He rolled up His sleeves and reached down into the dirt to draw out His most prized "plant". He worked until the form was just as his mind saw it and then He leaned over to gently blow across man’s face. And at the taste of it, Adam’s lungs filled with the heavenly sweet nectar and the meaning of life changed from beauty to companionship.

But even now, with a companion in human form, God’s heart is not fully complete. He sits to watch as Adam toils in the garden and He sees that even Adam seems to notice that he is lacking. So with a gentle whisper, He lulls Adam into a deep sleep.

Moving gently, the Ultimate Gardener works tirelessly to make another reflection of Himself, but one that will complete what He has begun. He takes just enough of man to make these two similar, but injects another side of Himself into this fleshly form.

Finished, He pauses to lean over this still form. As He gazes down at her face, a brief stab of pain runs into His heart. His mind is already full of the knowledge that it will be because this being’s actions that the true meaning of love will be revealed. But even while traces of hurt still echo in His heart, He sends the wind of life into her nostrils. A soft smile crosses His face because His creation is now completed...and as her rib cage expands for the first time, His heart catches for just a moment as He looks upon her face. Even knowing that His heart will be horribly broken in just a short amount of time, He can’t help but love her so much that He vows that nothing will ever separate them.

And with the flutter of her eyes, the meaning of life changes again from companionship to relationship...and this was a relationship He knew He was dying to save forever.

Looking up as always...