As I was reading in one of my devotionals this week, the daily entry spoke of creating little Edens wherever we live.
I’ve re-read this particular book over the past few years. I should no longer be surprised when something strikes me in a way it has not before, like this entry did. I know it’s often because of where my head and heart are at that particular moment.
Most people think of Eden as the garden in the Bible where Adam and Eve first lived. It was known to be a place of natural beauty and paradise.
As I read it this year, I sensed that perhaps little Edens aren’t always a place, maybe it could be a feeling we have that surrounds us unexpectedly. Where, for just a moment or two, longer if we’re lucky, our heart swells with a love and joy that cannot be described or put into words. It can only be felt. When it washes over us, we feel just a bit lighter. I knew I was on the right track when the I saw one of the definitions of Eden as often being an imaginary place or state of utter perfection and happiness.
I began looking back at just a few of my little Edens: a beautiful sunset, baby elephants, the renewal of life each spring, gifts of unexpected time, the birth of my children, random acts of kindness, laughing until I cry, the little noises newborn babies make, puppies and kittens, and times when I’m with someone and our conversation and connection leave us both feeling seen, heard and accepted.
As you go about your days, I encourage you to also be on the lookout for when an Eden moment comes, taking you by surprise. Accept and cherish it for the gift it is.
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