Toiling

“Working it out” seems a part of my DNA. So does a deep connection with the ground.

My prayer

Creator, sustaining life holds challenges, but possibility is always as close as my feet and hands. Thank You.

Biblical touchstone

To the man God said,…cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:17-19

Invitation to prayer

Gaze at the image of Adam working the ground…

…and the image of Eve spinning

What prayers are emerging from your heart, mind, and body? Pray them now.

Photos
Adam working the ground with a shovel and Eve using a drop spindle to spin as depicted by thirteenth century sculptors. The bottom of the inner archivolt 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: Longing for Home; Guarding; Being Sent Forth; 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)