Evidence for the Creator: The Earth

Or more exactly, tilling the earth..

Gen3:23 "therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken."

“We come from the earth, we return to the earth, and in between we garden.” ~anon

There is something ..primal.. about working the earth.. planting and growing.  It is therapeutic. It is calming. It centers us in ways few exercises can.

“To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

"How deeply seated in the human heart is the liking for gardens and gardening." ~Alexander Smith

The most creative, powerful, wise, and learned people often look to dirt, as an escape and a return to their roots.

It is almost a spiritual activity.. an ethereal experience, that transports the gardener from the mundane to the sublime.

“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.” ~ Alfred Austin

“The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth

One is nearer God’s Heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on Earth.”

~ Dorothy Frances Gurney

The Creator placed us here to 'till the earth.' He put within us a primal connection to the dirt. We feel it in our hands. It runs through our fingers like a pirate's treasure. It stirs us to the depths of our soul.

“All through the winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar.” ~ Helen Hayes

Even the richest, most powerful people retire to their garden for solace and quiet reflection. It is an equalizer, leveling the field, touching the spirit of the proud and humble, rich and poor, regaled and despised. It is a refuge for all. We all feel a kinship with the soil.

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

“Something happens to me when I garden. I am fully, reliably, blissfully present to who I am and where I am in that moment.” ~ Janisse Ray

Other animals do not have this mystical connection to the earth. They may dig it, walk on it, relieve themselves on it, but no other animal 'tills the earth', like man. No other engages it like a monastic calling. 

“The garden is a love song, a duet between a human being and Mother Nature.” ~ Jeff Cox

For some, it becomes a religion.. an all consuming obsession with herbs and flowers. Some forget the Author of creation, so fixed are they on the results.  But the earth always delivers, regardless whether the Creator is acknowledged or not.

"We are extremely uncomfortable with the spiritual aspects of gardening, and yet most people feel it in some form or other, even if it's a sense of connection to the greater world on a beautiful day." ~Monty Don

The feelings generated when gardening, or even thinking about it, are evidence of a primal embedding from the Creator. The admiration for the beauty and wonder of the creation transports us to another dimension, away from the noise and commotion of this world.

This is not some materialistic, utilitarian pursuit of food, but an almost worshipful event, in the cathedral of creation.

“Going out to the garden is to go on a holiday; when you travel amongst the flowers, your body touches heaven and your mind tastes the secrets of ataraxia!” ~ Mehmet Murat ildan

“I think this is what hooks one to gardening: it is the closes one can come to being present at creation.” ~Phyllis Theroux

So next time you plant a flower.. or a seed.. or weed.. or putter in the yard.. or look with satisfaction at your flower bed or vegetable patch ..remember..  reflect.. go back in the deep recesses of your soul, and relive the Touch of Life.  The Cause. A holy calling from your Maker. Let this experience draw you near to Him, who created all things, and you, to work the dirt, and feel peace in that calling.

"Gardening is not trivial. If you believe that it is, closely examine why you feel that way. You may discover that this attitude has been forced upon you by mass media and the crass culture it creates and maintains. The fact is, gardening is just the opposite - it is, or should be, a central, basic expression of human life." ~Andrew Weil

“Plant and your spouse plants with you; weed and you weed alone.” ~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau