Fruit tree (1)

(348)

The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18

A worm ate an apple too. God didn’t notice it
burrowing in a higher fruit, getting smarter by the mouthful.
Maybe not smarter, but wiser. That’s the word.
The worm ate and ate, and understood more
with every bite. It became aware, first of the wider outlines
of the divine plan, and then, like a telescope focusing,
every particular, and beautiful, detail. Of course, the problem
arose a little later: with greater clarity, flaws
became apparent, then obvious, then frustratingly clear.
The worm had to find some way to call its discoveries up the ladder,
see if it could get someone working on a fix. Of course, God
knew about the flaws, already. Why else would he forbid the fruit?
The worm made it about two-thirds of the way down the tree
when God saw it, and in His shame, sent a heavenly bird, a sparrow,
who ate the bird up. It was delicious. And of course,
some of the apple’s wisdom was still potently waiting in the worm’s
stomach, and got into the sparrow, too. Why else
would God watch sparrows all the time, nowadays? He’s ready for them.