Leaving what is known for what is unknown can be terrifying, exciting, or an uneventful step in a long process of change. Being sent away has always hurt more than leaving by my choice.
My prayer
God, trusting Your love when I am embodying the rupture in our relationship is hard for me on many levels. Help me to feel my pain and Your loving care in the same breath.
Biblical touchstone
God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:22-24
Invitation to prayer
Close your eyes as you imagine yourself as God, fearfully coming to the realization that Adam and Eve were facing danger they couldn’t handle. Notice where in your body the fear is pooling. Let it grow until it is almost unbearable. Then, ask yourself, “What prayers are emerging from my heart, mind, and body?” Pray them now.
Photos
Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden as sword-bearing angel stands behind them. The two inner archivolts on the right side of the central bay of the North Porch at the Chartres Cathedral in France.
Related posts on the creation sculptures at the Chartres Cathedral
God, the Creator: God Holding the Book of Knowledge; God Creating the Garden of Eden; God Creating the Animals (Day 6 of Creation at Chartres); God Imagining Humanity (Day 5 of Creation at Chartres); Envisioning Creation; Deep Consideration, In the beginning, God created…; The God of Creation; Inspiration
The Creation of Humanity: The Creation of Eve; God Creates Humanity (Day 6 of Creation at Chartres); Adam, Safe and Securely Created (Day 6 of Creation at Chartres); God Loving Adam into Being (Day 6 of Creation at Chartres); Loved
Adam and Eve, Drama in the Garden of Eden: Consequences: The Blame Game; Nowhere to Hide From God’s Searching Love, Alienation Hurts; Adam Chokes: The Feel of Alienation: Eve and the Serpent, The Heart of Naming: Adam in the Garden of Eden; Adam at Home in the Garden of Eden; Animal Connections (Day 6 of Creation at Chartres); The Fall of Humanity
The Creation of the Natural World: Imagining Humanity and Creating the Bird and Fish (Day 5 of Creation at Chartres); The Sun and the Moon (Day 4 of Creation at Chartres); Vegetation (Day 3 of Creation at Chartres); Creation Plants and Trees; The Firmament; Night and Day; Heaven and Earth; Creation: Part 2
The Garden of Eden: Trouble in the Garden; The Rivers of Eden, The Animals, Fish, and Birds of the Garden of Eden; The Animals, Fish, and Birds of the Garden of Eden; The Garden of Eden; The Animals Created by God (Day 6 of Creation at Chartres)
Pray with Jill Geoffrion 
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