I Took A Bite Of That Apple To See

I took a bite of that apple to see,

That you were naked in front of me.

'Thou shalt not eat of the Tree of Knowledge,

Such beauty unfolded in the fruit and foliage.

I did not plan to deceive you,

But how could I be without you?

One can only relate to what is known,

And with experience one is grown.

So why plant a tree,

And then say "Let it be?"

Why tempt one You know is weak,

By refusing not to speak,

And giving all the facts?

A test. What the hell is that?

Especially when You know all the answers,

Yet expect all the respect, my Lord, Sir?

Why create only to destroy,

Why use life like Your favorite toy?

In my quest to know all these whys,

I ate of that tree to try,

To understand it's reason for being,

And feel all that I knew You were seeing.

But I only found you innocent and naked,

My love, my life became most sacred.

Yes I'd do it all over again,

Be found naked and walking in sin,

To always be with you, my friend.

That Garden of Eden,

Was only created for two,

Yet now our souls combined in one anew.

In a love so innocent,

To withstand that banishment,

From perfection to Resurrection,

The toil becomes the dream,

And Beauty isn't what it seems.

Sometimes it can even be cruel,

To plant a tree and try to fool,

With restrictions set,

You sit and cast the net,

Knowing full well we would fall,

And never have a chance at all,

To live in a maintenance free Garden,

With You as our Warden.

That tree is the reason,

Our life is now for a season.

A brief time to walk the planet,

And destroy all that is on it.

In our quest to know all the whys,

We fall and live only to die.

We will never understand all Your ways,

But You give us a Hope to soften our short stay.

I took a bite of that apple to see,

That you were naked in front of me.

Sandra K. Harrison

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OCTOBER IS USUALLY SCARY FUN

One of my favorite seasons is fall. Unlike spring, fall has a unique array of colors that drape over all of God's creation. Bright yellows, oranges and reds. Dull browns, creams and an over kill of dead foliage everywhere. The nights are down right cold and the days unpredictable in reaching highs of the 60's and 70's. Already, this past October 6th, we had snow in these Nebraska sandhills. So the colors are now set in tune, deteriorating at a faster pace while heavy night time freezes take a nature toll. And that's not all ...

Fall colors splash all around me as I sit in a created throne of pillows and blankets, sipping on ice water and typing this post, while I continue to recover from back surgery I had on Oct 1st. Of course the type of surgery I had was of last resort. A fusion of my lower lumbar, the L4/L5. After much counsel it appeared to be my only option to stabilize a very damaged area in my back. I am recovering well. At least I think I am. Never had this type of surgery before and since pain was the biggest issue ... there is minimal to no pain on this day, 3 weeks and 2 days after surgery. I'm no longer distracted by pain and so this fall has my attention.

October is my scary fun month in fall. Halloween is the fun, with all the costumes and CANDY! Scary is in some of the costumes, decorations and haunted houses/corn fields and parties. I can't always do the haunted house thing. Strobe lights wack my balance and my claustrophobia attacks are hard to control in dark, cramped areas. But the element of being scared in a fun way is such a kick.

I am praying that my healing continues and will be advanced enough to get involved in the Halloween festivities that Ogallala supports. The parade is a hoot. I don't remember taking my son and daughter in Halloween parades when they were little. Why is that? Did we have em back then? (Just about done with the pain meds for my surgery ... but maybe I'm still loopy?) Well, I give up trying to recall. I do remember taking the grandkids though! In my old age, I love the parade! And yes, I get all dressed up. I've gone as a vampire, a Native American, Bonnie (Ron was my Clyde), a clown, a voting booth ... and so much more.

As I wrap up this post, I look out the window and all the fall colors are now enveloped in darkness as the night nears midnight. I can hear the wind, not a violent as it was on October 18th but it is a cold, brisk blow. And what is that on the window? Snow?

I had to get up from my pillow haven and open the window ... yep! It is snow. Hm ... on the 6th we got less than an inch here in the country, near Ogallala. The 24th is almost gone. 8 minutes to midnight. So far the snow has covered the fall colors in a light blanket of white. It is beautiful. Closing the window and suddenly feeling tired (could be the pain pill I took earlier) I look forward to my pillow haven on the bed. Tomorrow, October 25th, when I wake, what will the daylight bring?