Everything is symbolic in life - and the thoughts I had this morning walking through the snow were about trials in life. If life, like it was in the Garden of Eden, were an ever-bearing Spring, with amazing sights and beauty for years on end, no trials, no sorrow, and only peace, there would be things I would miss... principles I would forget... and people I would never meet.
God knows me and loves me - and so He didn't send me to Eden. He sent me to a fallen world, as a gay Mormon guy, to a mortal body full of "thorns of the flesh." And while sometimes I live in the Springtime of life, I also live through the blazes of Summer, the swirling storms of Autumn, and the freezing blizzards of Winter. Trees in the forest grow best in alternating conditions. During Spring and Summer, they experience massive growth. During Autumn and Winter, they create layers of hardened wood. Combining the two together gives the strength and breadth to withstand massive trials and support heavy burdens.
I'm grateful for the times of Winter in my life, and for the times of Spring - for the alternating lessons they teach me and the man they are helping me become. The imperfections that God gave me from birth (and yes, God did give us all imperfections - if it's not obvious from life, it teaches that in the scriptures) are the blessings Adam and Eve traded for ever-bearing fruit and eternal Spring. And as I've turned to God He has made me strong.
"I give unto all men weakness... That they may come unto me. And if they will come unto me I will make weak things strong unto them..."
Yeah, life would be great in a perfect Eden. But life outside is better.
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