Legends about how Adam and Eve begged to be allowed to return to the garden. God led them to a cave for shelter because return to the Garden wasn't an option. Eve offered to kill herself if Adam could return. Adam wouldn't hear of it. They refused to eat for months because they were frightened of sinning again. They despaired.
There are days when I truly wish my relationship with God was such that my sinfulness would lead me to such despair. Days when I don't brush off my failings as 'only human' nor skip over the dark places where I've chosen a wrong path. Not because I believe God requires this of me, but rather because I believe it would give me a glimpse of the glory of God. But that is a story for another day.
Adam and Eve were naked, hungry, lost, alone, and despairing. You really can't be much more naked than that. God stayed close, ready to provide the bare necessities to keep them going until they could catch their breath and begin to live into the future.
It was that or die. They had to learn how to make do; how to grow a crop; how to raise animals for milk and food. They had to learn to come in out of the rain and make a fire when the cold winds began to blow. It was never even near the same as it was in the Garden, but they had to learn to make do.
So it might be for the one under the 690 bridge; those caught in the crossfire in a war torn country; those living a house filled with violence; those whose mind is torn with disease. They have to learn how to make do, these naked, vulnerable one.
The question is: do they have to make do all by themselves?
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