The Garden

Chapter 8Divide

Mr. Erwin stood up without using the crutches that were by his side. He asked Jay to stand next to the Tree of Life and Kay to stand next to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. “Evil's ultimate goal is to divide us and separate us from God,” he said. He distracts, discourages, distorts, and creates doubt so that we will be divided from God, divided from each other and from ourselves.

Mr. Erwin then instructed Jay and Kay to take a step away from the trees and from each other towards the perimeter of the garden. He continued, “Every time you doubt God, every time you believe the lie, every time you get discouraged, and every time you get distracted you will feel further away and more disconnected from God and the people you love. Did you know the word ‘anxious’ literally means divided?” he asked.

He looked at Kay, who was tapping her foot on the ground. Kay looked down at her foot and for the first time realized that she was doing it.

“Is that why I'm so anxious and stressed all the time?” she asked.

“It's not the only reason,” said Mr. Erwin “but it's the main reason. It's what leads to the other reasons. I'm sure you can't sleep and probably have elevated levels of stress hormones called cortisol and have developed physical and mental symptoms of anxiety and stress, but at the core of it all is the fact that you feel divided, which leads to feelings of being alone, anxious, fearful, and stressed.

“After Adam and Eve ate the fruit because of doubt, distortion, ...