By
Stanley Baldwin
It
was their first day in the garden, and Adam and Eve were awestruck at the
ever-unfolding beauty. “Ahhs” and “ohhs” escaped their
lips at each new scene. No wonder, then, Eve was surprised when a frown creased
Adam’s brow.
“What
is it, Adam? What did you see?”
“I’m
not sure, Eve, but the sun was in the eastern sky and now it’s in the west.
With its present trajectory, it will soon disappear entirely. That would be the
end of the world as we know it!”
The
pair tried to continue their discoveries but often cast anxious eyes toward the
sun. As twilight came they knew their worst fears were about to be realized.
They made themselves as comfortable as possible and awaited the end.
The
next morning it took the dazed pair a few minutes to get their bearings. The
sun was in the east again. They felt rested, refreshed, eager to go exploring.
“It was all part of the divine plan,” Adam said, as if he had known all along.
“Praise the Lord.”
Adam
called the light day and the rest period he called night. The pair settled
comfortably into the pattern, and it was good.
Then
one day Adam came in from working the garden, troubled. When Eve pressed him,
he explained. “Yes, though it sets, the sun also rises, but it rises later
every day and sets earlier. The world simply cannot survive ever-shorter
days. The trees are already beginning to die. Haven’t you noticed the falling
leaves?”
“I’m
sure God has a plan,” said Eve bravely, but with trembling lip.
“Yes,”
said Adam, “but we may not like it. See what I found today.”
“Ewww!” said Eve,“ a dead mouse.”
“Look
closer,” said Adam. “See, it has no eyes. It lives underground in total
darkness and eats roots. I call it a mole, ‘cause it’s like a mouse in a
hole—mole, get it.”
“Yes,
dear, you always were clever about naming animals, but you are not suggesting
that’s God’s plan for us, are you?”
“I
don’t know. What if it is?“
Eve
shuddered. “I wouldn’t even want to live.”
The
pair decided to prepare for the worst by going around with their eyes closed.
They often had bumps and bruises from running into things. With each passing
day they became more depressed and irritable.
After
several weeks, Eve noticed one day that the rising sun peeked over the barn
roof a couple of minutes earlier than the day before. She hardly dared check on
the days that followed, but little by little, ever so surely, the sun was
rising earlier, and it was setting later.
“We’re
saved,” the happy couple said. “And this time let’s learn our lesson. Just
because some trend looks bad doesn’t mean things will keep going that way.”
And
Adam and Eve never again walked around with their eyes closed.
Stanley C. Baldwin writes from Portland, Oregon. scbaldwin2@yahoo.com