I had reached the age of twelve, and Dad kept his promise.
Dad loved to hunt and eat squirrel—and wanted me to also. I heard the hinges squeak on my bedroom door. Dad peeked his head in to wake me up. But he didn’t have to call my name. I had been awake for hours.
The air hung with humidity, yet still emitted a fall crisp. My grandmother had always said squirrels were no good until after the first frost. Frost killed the wolves, as she called them.
Our destination lingered thirty minutes away. Stately oaks stood like a general watching over his troops. Moss covered their branches like a quilt on a cold winter night. But I couldn’t see any of this when we arrived. Daylight was at least an hour away.
We walked slowly through the woods. Dew decorated the limbs of the small scrub bushes, giving me a brief shower every time Dad let one flap my way. I followed Dad’s flashlight beam as it scattered across the forest floor and pranced through the treetops. He searched for just the right place. After all, it was my first time, and he wanted me to have success. Finally, he found the right place. “Sit here and wait,” he said before walking off to find his tree.
“When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So, they hid from the Lord God among the trees” (Genesis 3:8 NLT).
The implication of the Genesis verse is that God had a habit of walking with Adam and Eve, perhaps daily. He created humanity for fellowship, so this would only be natural. Then sin entered. Satan tempted the couple, and they gave in to the one thing God had told them not to do. Sin broke their intimate fellowship.
God’s punishment? He removed them from the garden and placed angels at its entrance to prevent their return. But He also killed an animal and placed skins over their newly-discovered nakedness.
God, our Father, wants the same type of relationship with everyone that He had with Adam and Eve. I, like Adam and Eve, have often messed up God’s walk with me. I’ve sinned and not confessed. I’ve gotten too busy with other things—good things. I’ve focused too much on relationships with others. I could go on. We all could.
The good news is that nothing in our past—or present—can hinder our walk with God unless we let it. God is in the restoration business—as He proved with the first couple. No matter what we’ve done or are presently doing, He can cover it so the walks can continue. All we have to do is give our mess to Him. The Father enjoys nothing better than a good walk with His children.
