Ok, I’m in and my vision turns to the horizon, squinting to see the garden. But, what about now? Is there any garden in the clay soil of this earth?

I plant grass for a beautiful lawn only to be infiltrated by fire ants, I plant roses and they draw stinger-equipped wasps and bees.

At the beginning of God Reflections, I described my life as being lived in the tension of three chapters. The first chapter of life focused on learning, the second on doing, and now the third on being. The three poles are ever before me, as if connected by rubber bands. In the early years as I focused on learning, I strained to do and to be. As my focus shifted to decades of doing, I still strained to learn and to be.

The sound of the gun beginning the race long ago is now a distant memory as I move toward the finish line of my earthly marathon. As I move toward graduation into the Garden of God, my thoughts turn to being. Formed in the image of God, I want to reflect more on Him. It is in this reflection I can become more of who the Creator intended for me to be.

I have reflected over the past weeks on God. It is an attempt to bring reality back into focus. I want to make sure my life aligns with God’s plan for the restoration of his perfect garden where peace and joy will reign supreme and where all weeds brought into the garden by Satan will vanish. The pain and hurt I experience on earth will no longer be part of my eternal reality.

Having reaffirmed my commitment to God and my disloyalty to Satan, I notice there is still one misunderstanding that keeps others from declaring their allegiance to God. If God loves me, and I love God, then why do bad things still happen to me?

This question raised its head early in my journey.  I didn’t want to follow an impotent God.

Tragedy all too frequently visits my family.  At the age of 30, I began to address the question of following God when His hands seem tied. If God is God then how can He let His children down time after time?

A 14-year old boy is dead in a rollover through no fault of his own. A hole never to heal will remain forever in the soul of family. The driver who dozed off would gladly die a million deaths to restore the life of the gifted teen—it’s impossible. Where was God?

A young family committed their lives to the Lord, until one of their beautiful daughters drowned in the ocean. The dad turned his back on the Creator. Where was God? Did He not care?

This is a pivotal question. It links the Garden of Eden to God’s Eternal Garden where the question will never exist again.

Stay tuned. Next time I will explore the answer as to why fire ants invade green lawns, and wasps and bees—equipped with stingers of poison—fly close to the roses.

What are your reflections? – Gary Sorrells