The Tree

I still can’t believe this is ours. I mean, how crazy is it that we get to live here? Technically, it’s God’s, but he’s letting us take care of it! Unbelievable. It is so beautiful here. It’s hard to describe it in words. Each time of the day (and night) is a different kind of beautiful.

The early morning dawn, a tiny sliver of light suddenly piercing the darkness, growing bigger and brighter with each passing moment, the yawning world awakening.

The soft, peaceful morning, slow and lazy, bathed in pastels, the symphony of birds singing the sun to its height. 

The mid-morning haze, bright yet ethereal, drying out the dew and warming the air, the flowers turning their rainbow of vibrant faces toward the yellow sun as it arcs across the sky.

The noon heat, heavy and thick, shadows nearly gone, busy bees buzzing but larger creatures hidden away, awaiting the cool of the evening.

The mid-afternoon clouds, darkening the sky with sweet relief, cooling the air and rejuvenating the earth.

The evening dusk arriving in purples and blues of slowly thickening atmosphere, crickets chirping, toads calling, the shadows lengthening as the sun begins its bedtime routine.

Every morning I wake up and again realize my lovely dream is not a dream. This is our home! Hand-crafted for us by God himself. Our only job is to explore and enjoy it. To discover every gift for us he’s hidden within it, and to tend to it. Seriously … how did I ever land this gig? 

Adam and I take turns sharing with each other the gifts we find each day. A few days ago Adam had me close my eyes and smell what he was holding in his hand. It was spicy and earthy. He teasingly told me to open my mouth and he put it on my tongue. As I bit into it, I tasted a sharp burning that quickly went from my tongue, up through my nose and made my eyes water. Adam couldn’t stop laughing, even as I opened my eyes to discover I had bitten into a clove of garlic. Yesterday he showed me a miniature gecko, so green it was almost glowing, its smooth body lithe and its tiny feet sticky and clinging precariously to a branch. This morning I brought him a bright red flower, shaped like a bird, tall and dramatic and demanding attention, the air filled with its sweet and spicy fragrance.

Tonight, we intend to go back to the waterfall we stumbled upon a few days ago, to explore what God has hidden for us in the deep and shimmering pool at the bottom. The thundering water has made for plants so thick and vegetation so lush around the bottom that we couldn’t find a way through to the pool. But this time we’ll come prepared and I suspect we’ll find something amazing. Because everywhere we go is amazing.

God visits us each day. Sometimes he shows us new things we have not yet discovered, especially things we can eat. It’s never ending. So many good things to eat! Mango and honey and strawberry and tomato and spinach and walnut and potato and cucumber and black bean and wheat and goji berry and leek and olive and pomegranate and fig and bell pepper and papaya and pumpkin and grape and caper … oh believe me, I could go on.

Sometimes he just talks with us or walks with us or sits with us. Sometimes he listens. Sometimes we listen. Often we laugh together. I think he just likes being with us. These are the best times, when it’s the three of us, God, Adam and me. It feels as if everything is as it should be. We feel complete. We feel whole.

Sometimes, though, it’s just Adam and me. […clears throat…] These times, also, are my favorite. We are physically so different, and yet, we fit together perfectly. It was like we were specifically made for each other by someone who knows us better than we know ourselves. When Adam and I are together, somehow even this paradise where we live fades to the background, and it’s just the two of us. We find in the other what we are missing and together we create perfect harmony and balance.

In this place, God has only given us one rule. Seriously … just one thing in his whole creation is off limits. All of this beauty and these good gifts and just one tree we cannot eat from! That’s it. So simple. No biggie. Should not be a problem. 

The tree that is off limits is massive, its thick limbs spread wide, its trunk solid and its shade abundant and inviting. We occasionally sit under it to rest from the heat of the day or take a nap. I do sometimes find myself thinking about the fruit it bears, curious about how it tastes, and I wonder what I might be missing out on, but then I remember how many gifts he has given us and how much we have to be grateful for.

Still … the more I think of it, the more I find I can’t stop wondering why he made one tree off limits? What if that fruit is my favorite fruit?

Wait. This is ridiculous. I’m completely satisfied by Adam and God and this garden home. I don’t want for anything or need anything else.

But still I wonder …