I’m part of AVENIR Leadership Institute and was recently in Brisbane helping a client devise their strategic plan for the next 5 years. Their CEO, Matt Vandepeer, started one of our days with a beautiful devotion based on Genesis 2:15, “the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” The two key words struck me as deeply significant. To “tend” and to “keep”. There is both a nurturing and a protective part. Even in paradise there was work to be done (or is it especially in paradise there was work to be done – the Bible’s initial take on human labour is very positive). A part of that work is tending or nurturing. Perhaps we can think of it as working in such a way that the very best comes out of something. Another part is keeping – which might include its ferocious defence to ensure it remains a thing of beauty for others and for the future.
We often long for new things and deeper responsibilities, but this little verse invites us to investigate what we are doing with what we already have. Though we are wired to ask for more, this suggests we begin with introspection. How well are we working with what we already have? Are we tending and keeping it well?
It’s not just things which we need to tend and keep. Prov 4:23 reads “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” That’s a strong instruction. While guarding our heart no doubt includes checking our cholesterol levels, I think it is more than that. It means nipping destructive weeds in the bud – not allowing cynicism, bitterness or envy to take route.
Let’s face it, some of us are a little self indulgent here. We allow ourselves to wallow in our disappointments, angrily reviewing what went wrong and remembering who was to blame (assuredly not us!) But it is not enough to tut tut our inclination to do this. Far better to tend our heart well. That includes facing our disappointments, learning from them, and then practicing that most valuable of spiritual disciplines – leaving things in the hands of God. And in those hands, disappointments don’t become destructive, attitude sapping weapons, but tools for growth, and wisdom and peace. Perhaps we might even come to the place where like Julian of Norwich we can say with deep confidence, “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.”
If we should tend our own heart, we should also help to nurture the hearts of others. Adam had to tend and keep the garden. Our role might be to tend and keep our family, or staff team, or friends or… the list goes on, and the invitation is real. Be a positive source of growth in the lives of those around you. Open your eyes to spot those who are already in your orbit.
It’s both tend and keep. It can include standing up for others, advocating on their behalf, and speaking up for them. Keeping can take great courage. In a throw away age, it includes spotting the value of things we might otherwise discard or consider to be of little value.
Today’s post is making a simple plea. When next you long for more, why not shift your focus and ask, “am I tending and keeping what I already have – and am I doing it really well?” Because no matter how modest our garden, if we tend and keep it well, good things start to happen…
Nice chatting…
Photo by Optical Chemist: https://www.pexels.com/photo/vibrant-yellow-flowers-in-thai-countryside-31225263/
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Comment *Thanks for that Brian