"I am like a tree planted by the rivers of water;... that bringeth forth his FRUIT in his season... "
I tried, as much, so hard not to make this piece look like a sermon on a Sunday morning dedicated to wedding anniversaries in an orthodox church. But some pertinent scriptures I referred to in this piece indicate how, even the world is gradually realizing that the Holy Book is full of situations, stories, events, actions and reactions that stand as metaphors, allegories and parables for us to live by, from one generation to another, to the extent to which we decipher them.
"And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed... " (Gen 2:8-9a)
"And the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." (Gen 2:15)
God is The Planter; who planted humanity into the face of the earth, His Only Begotten Son into the world to redeem it from the fall, and He still plants His Word into our spirits (through the Holy Spirit who guides us into the understanding of The Word) until our souls are renewed and our bodies transformed:like the leaven (seed), which a woman (God) took and hid in three measures of meal (Man's spirit, soul and body), till the whole was leavened. (Luke 13:21)
Centuries over centuries, Farming remains peculiar to the Male Man especially. In the olden days, most village men were farmers, their wives and daughters helped out though, to harvest and take to the market to sell. Men understand the language of the ground so well; maybe because they were made directly from it, while women were made from their ribs. Farming is the occupation that sustains our lives by putting food on our tables to fill our bellies and goods on the shelves to load our pockets. A universal activity that has thought us some great basic lessons of life such as whatever you sow you shall reap.
The act of Farming is an art of life; a parable for humanity to live by. One thing I find exciting is its synonym which is HUSBANDRY; a word that takes its root from the word HUSBAND. Which implies that every husband is a farmer; and the moment you meet a woman you love and want to spend forever with, the process begins. From Clearing, to Ploughing, to Ridging, to Planting, to Weeding, and so on; a line-up of processes that is determined by the nature of the soil and the type of crop to be grown on it in a particular season.
Husbandry*, the act of husbanding a woman (in this context), is a great unique skill that does not depend purely on the amount of money a man has. It is a farming that requires a skill of time, patience and a lot of strategic thinking. It is a skill for the dedicated and hardworking.
"Therefore the LORD God sent him (Adam) forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken." (Gen 3:23)To 'husband' is to farm; to cultivate, to till, to dress and keep the garden that God has handed over to you. Your Woman is a Garden; your own garden of eden planted by God and given to you to dress and keep. The woman is the Soil in which a man sows his seeds. How fertile she is, of course, depends on her journey through life; her background, character values, belief system and the things she has learnt from the minute she becomes conscious of her femininity. A woman is fertile when she is seasoned. Apart from the natural fertility, the application of fertilizers to enhance greater productivity is the sole responsibility of the farmer. It's all in his power and all for his gain anyway.
"So ought farmers (men) to love their gardens (wives) as their own bodies. He that loveth his garden (wife) loveth himself. For no farmer (man) ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:... " (Eph 5:28-29). What a man sows into his woman is what he reaps; not in the same measure but in hundreds and thousands. Women - Our Multipliers! Whatever you give her, she will make it greater. They turn our seeds of sperm into babies, our houses into homes, groceries into a meal, and smiles into laughter.
Wait! Don't raise an eyebrow yet. You want to know why somewomen get it all from their men and still throw it back at their faces? Here is the answer.
Do you remember that when the sower went out to sow,
God has so designed Marriage in such a way that the benefits derived from it by one party are dependent on the other party. Ladies are probably going to nail me for this but honestly some things can never find expression in your life as a woman until there is a man to till your ground; remember that the LORD God did not cause it to rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the ground." (Gen 2:5). Even the Holy Ghost had to come upon Virgin Mary and the power of the Highest overshadowed her before she could conceive the Saviour. For every seed: biological, financial, emotional, physical, psychological, spiritual, men are the giver and you are the receiver.
We are the carrier and you are the nurturer and the multiplier. Without us, you have little or nothing to work on and without you, our seeds remain as seeds. Of what good is a seed when it cannot become a plant?
Have you ever imagined what the soil goes through to withstand the forces of nature? Yet, the forces cannot be done without, if indeed the earth wants to yield her increase; the scorching sun almost every afternoon, the heavy rain that sometimes turns into a flood, the swift wind that blows over it. Just like a woman's monthly menstrual pain, a 9-month protruding belly multiplied by the number of children she bears, the pain at childbirth, the compulsion of breastfeeding, the pain of some birth control methods etc. Women are strong; naturally endowed to withstand lot of forces. They can deal with stress and carry heavy burdens.
A good farmer must understand the best season to plant a particular crop, and understand the language of the soil. A farmer must protect; diligently watch over his farm at all time to keep intruders away and weed regularly so that shaft does not grow with the wheat.
Most important of all, Apostle Paul compares the love expected from a husband to his wife, a farmer to his garden, with that of Christ to the church (Eph 5:25-27). This simple but exceptional scripture implies that a Husband shouldgive himself "for" his wife; that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious wife, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that she should be holy and without blemish. Every good farmer has the responsibility of watering hisgarden with the "pure water" of the Word of God. He must pray for Rain. Without which the ground cannot yield her increase. As much as your water your soil, it is never enough. You need God's Rain; it's a blessing to the garden and the owner of it.
The number of times you sleep with your wife does not guarantee that she will get pregnant. God has to rain on your seed inside her. And finally, You should not eat of thy ground in sorrow and sweat of thy face anymore and it should not bring you thorns and thistles (Gen 3: 17-19), the curse has been undone; the Blood that gushed out of Jesus' head when the crown of thorns was placed on it has taken care of that. He became cursed for our sakes' and that way; every curse upon us as a result of the fall has been wiped off.
Let me remind you of this conversation between Neytiri and Jake Sally, in the movie titled "Avatar" by James Cameroun in 2009,
Neytiri: To become "taronyu" hunter, you must choose your own Ikran and he must choose you. (NB: Ikran is the flying creature)
Jake Sally: When?
Neytiri: When you are ready.
[... then she (Neytiri) makes a whooping sound as she flies off her own Ikran].
To become a farmer, every man must choose his own garden and his garden must choose him. When? When he is ready. How? By praying to God and opening his eyes. There are really no rules to finding Mister or Miss Right but basically, you should (1) BELIEVE a few good ones still exist and even if there is only one left, he/she will be yours. (2) BE who you want to have; you can't be wayward and want a decent girl or vice versa. We have the power to attract the kind of person we are. (3) PRAY: God is the giver of good gifts.A MAN CAN RECEIVE NOTHING, EXCEPT IT BE GIVEN HIM FROM HEAVEN (John 3:27) and (4) WATCH: Love is not blind; we only choose not to see. Unlike Salvation, in love we walk by faith and also by sight.
Every man to his own garden. You have yours, I have mine. So don't even attempt to come any close to my own... or I might just get you arrested by the heavenly police; the Cherubim that God has placed at the east of my garden of eden, and a flaming sword which turns every way, to keep the way of the tree of life (Gen 3:24) in her heart, where the issues of life come from.
Remember that, when Jake Sally was indeed ready as Neytiri has said, his Ikran recognised and chose him by confronting him while all others flew away as he scared them. The first contact may not be easy/come cheap but somehow, subsequent ones will prove and reveal the connection, that undeniable chemistry between the two of you, and that is if it is meant to be there. Another memorable conversation in this same movie was:
Neytiri: You are Omaticaya now. You may make your bow from the wood of Hometree. And you may choose a woman. We have many fine women. Ninat is the best singer.
Jake Sally: I don't want Ninat.
Neytiri: Peyral is a good hunter.
Jake Sally: Yes, she is a good hunter. But I've already chosen. But this woman must also choose me.
Neytiri: [Smiles] She already has.
[They kiss]
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