Have you ever wondered how Adam and Eve felt after their big oops moment in the Garden? I mean, after they played the finger pointing game. It was Your fault, God – you gave me this woman. It was the serpent’s fault, God – it deceived me. Sigh. When did the magnitude of their sin hit them? Did they wish they could go back again and have a do-over? Knowing what they knew, would they eat that fruit again or run away screaming? Or would the deliciousness of their first taste beckon them back to the tree?
And then I wondered, how might things have turned out if they had fallen down on their faces and begged for forgiveness instead of hiding? But pointing fingers is more in our nature than true repentance, sadly.
These were the questions in my mind when I began my short story Shadow Play. As you read the story, you’ll notice a lot of Genesis 3 references. Eve (Evie), the death of joy, the tree, the serpent’s whispers, and at the very end, the forgiveness God’s offers through His Son.
In the first draft of the story, I had Evie travel back through time to the moment of her fateful decision. In the original version, she ran away instead of making the same choice again. But reading the story written with that ending didn’t sit right with anyone who read it (including me) because God doesn’t give us do-overs. He doesn’t send us back in time to choose again. He wipes away our mistakes and gives us a clean slate through forgiveness, not forgetting.
And aren’t you glad? If we forgot, we’d be plagued to make the same mistakes over and over like some sort of never-ending loop. (Hmm, maybe that’s a good premise for a story…) Forgiveness allows us to move on with life instead of reliving the same mistakes again and again. (Hopefully).
I posed the question on Facebook, “if Eve was given a do-over, would she eat the fruit again?” In the opinion of my Facebook friends who answered, it would only have been a matter of time until Adam and Eve would have sinned again. Our memories are short like that.Â
Ready to read Shadow Play? You can it at this link:Â http://www.familyfiction.com/short-stories/the-story-2014-contest/shadow-play/
I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you like it, please press the green thumb at the bottom to cast your vote for it. You can read the other stories and vote for as many as you like. I won’t know until early May if my story has won anything, but just getting it to where it is now so I can share it and have people vote for it seems like a win to me. đŸ™‚
Now, dear friends, your thoughts on Adam and Eve? If they had a do-over, would they make the same mistake again?
Lisa Gefrides 
Mulling this over has me wanting to reread Perelandra. Doesn’t C.S.Lewis semi-explore this question there?
It’s a tough question. Yes, our memories are short. But I don’t know if I think Adam & Eve specifically would do it again. If they retained all memory of the consequences the first time, I doubt they would be tempted again. Especially depending on how long afterward the do-over was given. Some time out of Eden, tilling the soil, having painful childbirth and then getting a do-over, the consequences would be a little more seared on their memories. But I’m betting Cain or Able or one of their other children would have ignored their admonitions and taken the fruit.
Here’s an interesting premise for a story – what if it had been one of the kids? Would we have a planet with a split population, half the way we were meant to be, half not?
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Premises, premises everywhere and no time to write… đŸ™‚
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I echo sparksofember’s thoughts. Perelandra related to the idea of preventing Adam and Eve from falling to temptation. I doubt they’d make the exact same mistake again, but I’d bet Satan would try again with a similar temptation to question God’s wisdom and love.
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I’ve never heard of Perelandra before today. I’ll have to check it out.
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Oh, CS Lewis’s space trilogy. I’ve been meaning to read that. I’ve heard it’s really good. I think I’ll try to find that at the library or on audio. Thanks!
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I need to read it again as an adult with better understanding than I had as a teen. But Perelandra was my favorite of the three.
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I usually like the second in a series best as well. Not always, but sometimes. (LOL)
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It depends on the series, for me. Sometimes the middle book feels like filler, dragging things out for a trilogy. But other times it really builds the story, ups the stakes, has so much content.
The space trilogy is a little different in that regard. It’s been years since I read them but my memory is that each one had its own complete story with possibly only a little left unresolved at the end. The first one is odd and sets things up a bit. The middle one with the Adam and Eve of Venus was just fascinating. And the last one was much darker, creepier, and so far over my head that I’m not sure I understood most of it. And Arthurian legend. (So I bet you’ll like it!)
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