There was once a garden where everything was beautiful.
The flowers opened without fear. The trees gave their fruit freely. Nothing needed to be hidden.
And in the middle of it all were three roses—full, delicate, and impossibly beautiful.
But beauty has a strange way of making us curious. Temptation has a way of conquering our desires.
One day, a woman and a man reached for what they had been told not to take and nothing would ever be the same again. Something had broken and the petals of the roses fell to the ground.
Afterward, the garden was still there.
The flowers were still there. The trees were still there.
But something had changed.
For the first time, the woman and man saw themselves differently.
He noticed his imperfections. She felt shame. They understood that they were vulnerable.
And the innocence that had been known was now gone.
Three petals fell to the earth.
Not because the roses had stopped being beautiful, but because something beautiful had been broken.
I think we all know something about that garden.
Maybe not the garden itself.
But the moment.
The moment when life changes and nothing will ever be the same again.
EDEN
18" x 14" an Oil Painting on a Linen Panel by
Kristen Ulla Grunewald
A Garden, a Fall, and the Way Home
There was once a garden where everything was beautiful.
The flowers opened without fear.
The trees gave their fruit freely.
Nothing needed to be hidden.
And in the middle of it all were three roses—full, delicate, and impossibly beautiful.
But beauty has a strange way of making us curious. Temptation has a way of conquering our desires.
One day, a woman and a man reached for what they had been told not to take and nothing would ever be the same again. Something had broken and the petals of the roses fell to the ground.
Afterward, the garden was still there.
The flowers were still there.
The trees were still there.
But something had changed.
For the first time, the woman and man saw themselves differently.
He noticed his imperfections.
She felt shame.
They understood that they were vulnerable.
And the innocence that had been known was now gone.
Three petals fell to the earth.
Not because the roses had stopped being beautiful, but because something beautiful had been broken.
I think we all know something about that garden.
Maybe not the garden itself.
But the moment.
The moment when life changes and nothing will ever be the same again.