Getting Back to the Garden

If you step back and look at the world today, it’s no surprise we feel so restless. Anxiety is through the roof, sleep is wrecked, and energy is all over the place. And yet when you open the very first pages of the Bible, the blueprint for health is right there in front of us.

Formed from Dust

Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

Think about that. Dust. Dirt. The very same minerals in the ground are inside our bones, blood, and cells. Calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron are the raw materials for life. Biology confirms it. Our skeleton is a mineral structure, our blood carries iron to deliver oxygen, our nerves require sodium and potassium to fire.

This is why food from healthy soil makes us feel alive. Fruits and vegetables pull minerals up from the dirt. Animals that graze in pastures concentrate those nutrients in their meat and milk. Water from mineral-rich springs replenishes what sweat, stress, and processed food deplete.

Even touching the earth matters. When we press bare feet into grass or rest our hands on the trunk of a tree, we’re reconnecting to the material we were formed from. Scientists call it “grounding.” Research shows it balances the electrical charge in our cells, lowers inflammation, improves circulation, and can even help sleep. That is more than a hack. That is Genesis biology.

Designed for Rhythm

God didn’t just shape us from dust. He set us in motion with rhythm.

Genesis 1 repeats the same phrase again and again: “And there was evening, and there was morning…” This was the first circadian rhythm. Modern science confirms that every cell in our body has an internal clock. Light and dark govern our hormones, energy, digestion, and even immune function.

Cortisol rises with the sunrise to give us alertness and drive. Melatonin rises in the evening darkness to repair and restore. When we live in rhythm, our sleep deepens, our energy steadies, and our mood lifts. When we fight it with late-night screens, stress, and artificial light, our biology unravels.

Today’s chaos of blue light at midnight, processed food at every corner, and schedules that never stop has pulled us far from that design. No wonder we feel anxious and depleted.

Actually Getting Back to the Garden, Today.

Here’s the good news. We can get back to the garden. We can realign our biology with the blueprint God gave us. And it doesn’t require perfection. It just takes small steps.

Your Daily Guide to Getting Back to the Garden

• Wake with the sun. Step outside within minutes of opening your eyes. Barefoot if you can. If you live in the city, place your hands on a tree. Morning light signals your circadian rhythm, raises cortisol at the right time, and programs melatonin so you sleep better later.

• Eat food that remembers the soil. Instead of grabbing a processed breakfast, start with fruit, eggs, or something real. Genesis 1:29 tells us God gave plants for food. Genesis 9:3 added meat as part of His provision. Both were whole and nutrient-rich. Modern nutrition confirms this: whole foods provide fiber, vitamins, protein, and healthy fats that stabilize energy and prevent crashes.

• Move like you were designed to. In Eden, food wasn’t convenient. You walked to pick it, carried it back, hunted for it. God designed movement into survival. Today we know exercise builds mitochondria, the tiny engines inside our cells that turn food into energy. More mitochondria means more endurance, strength, and longer life.

• Ground and breathe. Take ten minutes outside, shoes off. While you’re there, practice box breathing: inhale four seconds, hold four seconds, exhale four seconds, hold four seconds. Do this ten times. It stimulates the vagus nerve, lowering stress hormones and resetting the nervous system.

• Hydrate with minerals. Your cells don’t just need water, they need electrolytes. Sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium allow nerves to fire and muscles to contract. Drink spring water or mineral water. If you only have filtered water, add minerals back in with electrolytes like Re Lyte.

• Rest with the evening. Genesis says, “there was evening, and there was morning.” Darkness was meant to signal rest. Melatonin, your master sleep hormone, only rises in low light. After sunset, dim the lights or switch to red bulbs. Try a screen-free hour. Go stargazing or sit quietly. Your nervous system will thank you.

Know Your Numbers

If you want to take this deeper, test your body. For me, finally getting my labs with Joi and Blokes changed everything. Knowing my hormones, thyroid, and cortisol levels gave me clarity and peace. I stopped guessing and started living with confidence. Biology is complex, and sometimes you need a map. If you don’t know your numbers, you are flying blind.

The Bottom Line

We weren’t made for chaos. We were made for Eden. From dust and grounding, to evening and morning rhythms, to real food and rest, scripture and science point back to the same truth. The closer we live to that design, the more grounded, nourished, and alive we feel.

That’s the good stuff.