Leaving this Garden of Eden

I was listening to the story of Adam and Eve a little while ago and it struck me that it had a few similarities and applications to my single life.

Adam and Eve had a super relaxed, cushy life in the Garden. No demands on their time. No real responsibilities. No one to think about but themselves. Sounds awesome right?! 

Right. 

I mean, wrong. (supposedly...)

Then they realized that there is more to God's plan for them, so they eat the fruit and are cast out of their beautiful refuge of peace and tranquility, and now they have to struggle and work and wear clothes. They make covenants with God and understand there will be challenges, but the benefits of the opportunity to exercise faith, to learn to be like God, and to have children seems to outweigh the difficulties that mortality would bring. 

Here's how it applies to me.

Being single has some really wonderful aspects: I can really do whatever I want at any time of the day or night, I spend less than a hundred dollars on groceries each month, and my house stays as clean as I leave it. Demands on my time include going to the gym, meeting my friends for lunch, and the hours I spend shopping for swimsuits. Life is pretty cushy for me right now. 

However, like Adam and Eve, I need to realize that there is more to God's plan for me than lounging by the pool. And I do. But I am so intimidated by the idea of leaving this Garden of Eden that I maybe I have been dragging my feet and eliminating dating prospects that seem to threaten my independent lifestyle. ( "You want me to care about your well being? Then when will I have time to care about mine?!") I've become really comfortable in my Garden.

The lesson here is that the benefits of the opportunities to exercise my faith, to become closer to my Heavenly Father, and to start a family would greatly outweigh the difficulties of leaving behind my comfortable life and taking that scary step into the unknown. That is what this life is about, after all. Because, heaven knows, if this life was about owning too many clothes, staying up too late, and eating too many french fries, I'd have been translated ages ago.