Eden Discovered
Alice J. Pomeroy © 2008
"I've found it, I've found it" my friend Betsy yelled as she burst into my kitchen.
We've been friends forever. Every time Betsy "finds" something, I've learned not
to get too excited. What she finds is usually the latest and greatest cure, diet,
vacation spot, recipe, or a new store. I've learned to hold my enthusiasm
until I hear "the rest of the story".
I looked at her face and I could tell she, indeed, was extremely excited about
what ever it was she found. She was animated and so bright eyed that I had to
stop and listen to what she had to say. "Sit down, calm down, and catch your
breath. What is it you've found?"
"Eden?" I've found Eden!" Well, now I didn't expect this. I expected soup using
unusual ingredients. I didn't expect Eden. I thought about asking if she lost her
mind or if she's been in the sun too long, but I couldn't. There was a change
about her that I've never seen before, so I just nodded and asked her to explain.
Here's her story. It seems as she was watching a program on the history
channel they were explaining about all those relics and places that people have
been trying for years to rediscover that they mentioned the Garden of Eden. It
sparked her interest, so she got on line and did some research. She also went
to the library and borrowed a few (25 at least) books on the subject. Betsy really
got into looking and studying about the Garden of Eden.
She learned it was a place of perfection. It was of course beautiful and plentiful.
Supposedly it still exists. Supposedly it has an angel guarding the entrance.
Supposedly - well, she decided that she just had to find the Garden of Eden.
Now where to begin. She began at the beginning. The Bible-Genesis the first
book. It explains all about Eden. Where it was located, by the rivers Pison,
Gihon, Hiddekel, and the Euphrates. She also found out about all the trees and
plants that grew there. She learned that God made this perfect place for Adam.
Now where was it? She studied maps, and pictures, but did not find anything.
So she studied some more.
I broke in and asked if she would like a cup of coffee or something to drink. I
really have never seen her so excited. It was so out of character. Betsy shook
her head no and went on with her story.
She read some philosopher's studies on what other people thought Eden meant.
She read stories that tried to explain the beginnings and ends of Eden.
Nothing made sense to her. Nothing was evident. She was at a loss. How
could some place so explicit just not exist any more?
"I tell you the truth, I almost gave up," said Betsy. She flopped down at the
kitchen table and started fiddling with the napkin holder. She had such a look of
sadness on her face, but only for a second or two. Then she sighed and
continued on with her story. Seems she even looked at maps of the area
mentioned in the Bible. Nothing. She got so caught up in her quest that she
couldn't sleep, she lost weight, and she became obsessed with finding Eden.
Let me interject a little side bar into this story. Betsy is just a normal working
single female. She does not have wealth to travel around investigating the area.
She doesn't have a degree in archeology or does she know anything about
digging up the past. She just wanted to find Eden.
She attended her church one Sunday and was completely oblivious to what the
Pastor was talking about, when she heard that Eden exists for all of us. Oh man,
how she wished she had been paying attention. She couldn't go up and ask him
what he meant. After all she was sitting right there. Oh man, what to do, what to
do? She left the church and on the way home she heard a song about Adam &
Eve in the Garden of Eden. Oh wow, that was just the coolest thing. Now she
was sure she had to keep looking or maybe seeking might be a better word.
So she started asking her friends and co-workers about their thoughts on Eden.
Most agreed that is was perfect. That it was Heaven on Earth. But when she
asked them where was it, they didn't have a clue.
She kept up her quest. Always looking for the answer. Betsy was really excited
by this time that I was getting excited too.
"Go on, go on", I practically shouted at her. "This is just too much. You can't
stop now."
She took a deep breath. Asked for a glass of water and after drinking it she
hesitated.
I was sitting on the edge of my chair. I remember how she ran in here with "I
found it!" I waited. I watched. It was driving me up the wall. "Come on. Let me
have it."
It seems after asking all her friends, her co-workers she started asking people at
the grocery store, at the drug store, even at the beauty salon. Finally, finally, she
found someone that knew. Absolutely knew where she could find Eden.
"Well, where is it?" I shouted. "Tell me please".
Betsy just sat there smiling. Then she patted her chest. "It's here, in my heart."
"What?" "It's here, in my heart and in your heart, too."
I couldn't believe it. It was beyond comprehension. What a let down. In my
heart, in her heart, what the heck was she talking about.
I sat there in silence staring at her. She's perfectly serious I thought. How dumb.
How stupid does she think I am?
"Let me explain," Betsy said. "You see it's not a place, so much as it is a state of
mind. It is where your spirit, your soul, can find rest."
I still didn't get it. Maybe I'm just dense or maybe I expected something more. I
got up and walked around the kitchen. My spirit, my soul, finding rest?
She took a quavering breath. The next words out of her mouth, changed me.
She continued with a voice so soft, I pulled up my chair next to her and sat and
listened intently.
"All my life I wanted to belong. I wanted to belong to a family, to a husband, a
club, anything. All my life, I didn't quite fit in. I didn't know how and I tried so
hard. That's why I was always doing something different, something unusual."
I couldn’t believe my ears. This was the first time I have ever seen Betsy so
serene and so open.
She continued oh so quietly. "When I started my quest for the Garden of Eden, I
was just messing around. It was something to talk about. It gave me purpose. It
allowed me to break the ice with people I did not know. Then one day, at the
library, as I was looking though books I did not understand, and I might say,
hoping that no one would be wiser, I heard a voice say, 'Ah, searching for Eden
huh?'. I jumped at the sound, and looked around and saw a little, I mean little,
old man looking over my shoulder. He had to be in his 80's at least. " Yes, I
guess," I told him.
She wiped a solitary tear from her cheek and then continued.
This is what I heard and I will try to relate it to you word for word.
The kindly old gentleman asked if he might set a spell and of course she said
yes. He glanced at her studies and nodded at different passages, then he looked
her straight in the eyes and said, "What you are searching for, you've already
found. What you are seeking you already have. What you are hoping for is
already in you. Look to your heart. Is there room for Jesus in there? He is the
answer all your questions." He patted her on her shoulder and walked away.
Betsy was stunned. She didn't know what to think.
She left the library and walked home. She didn't even notice that it was getting
dark and that the evening had turned chilly. She was so engrossed with what
the old man had said. It's in your heart.
Betsy looked at me with such a glowing countenance, such honesty I didn't
know what to say.
"I went back to my Bible and just opened it up and I found the book of John.
Actually John 14:6. I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life." Betsy confessed.
"You know that's what I read and that's how I found my Garden of Eden. All the
studying and questioning and searching, I finally realized that Eden was where
God dwelt. He wanted a relationship with His creation. He wanted to walk
and talk with His children. Isn't that what we have when we accept Jesus as our
savior?"
Here was my lifelong friend telling me what I already knew, but in such a way that
it was enlightening. It was as if a cloud disappeared and the sun shone through.
I bowed my head and silently thanked God for such a wonderful friend.
Betsy gave me a hug and had to leave. So many things to do and places to
see, but it all had new meaning.
Are you looking for something special? Are you looking for your Garden of
Eden? Look to your heart. I did and I found I too had discovered Eden.
Comments