Eve After Eden: Part II
I am beginning to look forward to my best-laid plans throwing themselves out the window. They seem to have a penchant for that.
“Eve After Eden” was technically done in December 2021. The last interview was completed, and the article was scheduled for the first Sunday of 2022. Only a closing article remained. I published it on January 9 and then my plans found a window to throw themselves out, courtesy of Kaye Moore.
My mentor throughout my career messaged me from abroad. Kaye quit her job and every nonreciprocal relationship in her life, sold all her belongings, and moved to another country!
Dumbfounded! Shocked, I was!
I messaged back, “Can I interview you for this project I’m working on?!”. Yes, a chat message kicked off “Eve After Eden: Part II”.
With her acceptance of my interview request, Part II was put in motion while I was growing into and from the lessons learned in Part I.
With Part I completed, I was soaking in all the information I’d learned from Ashley, Pamela, Kassandra, and Tyra. The process of reconciling who they were and who they had become was underway and it was a deeply personal experience for me to unpack their stories once again and, with their permission and trust, glean wisdom. It was reassuring to know how hard women could be hit with trials of every kind and see them be recreated. It was humbling to know that each of the women trusted me to hear and then share just this small portion of their life. I am still in awe.
With Part I completed, there was not going to be a Part II. The full answer to my original question, “Who was ‘Eve after Eden’?”, had not been found but the portion I was given was enough for me, I thought.
I learned that after Eden, Eve went about the business of finding her true self in a new space and doing so, even today, this is treacherous work. She went about the work of being worthy of what she had because, in her new space, she understood what she lost.
Today, we have to earn a semblance of “Eden” (or our happily ever after) through the lessons we learn and the battles we fight, whether we lose or win. We earn “Eden” by what we are able to heal and what we call on Him to heal. That latter part requires humble submission and trust in a being we cannot see but can feel and hear if we are still.
I digress.
Part II started with:
- The mentor who knocked my socks off by throwing caution to the wind and doing those things women are told not to do: Leave and start over or leave what no longer serves you and find what does;
- The generous, world-traveling, self-actualizing, thirty-something who was on sabbatical in Ghana doing amazing work with a hidden drive;
- The career-driven, focused wife and mother who left her job in Corporate America to sow into the community that raised her and met with transitions in career and familial relationships;
- And, the serial entrepreneur who tried to fit a mold too small for her greatness and too shallow for her understanding so she made moves.
The women for “Eve After Eden” and their stories are finding me now. My curiosity is piqued. I ask all those who accept my request for an interview, “Why did you bite the apple?”
This time, I leave my preconceived notions at the door and am an intentional conduit for the stories of their lifetimes.
Buckle up for “Eve After Eden: Part II”!
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