God and Blackberries

God.

All-knowing, All-Powerful, Omnipresent (big word - it means he's everywhere).

I took a walk down our long, rambling, rutted gravel driveway today. I heard the gravel crunch pleasantly under my mom's crocs that I was wearing, the 90-something degree heat seemed to pulsate in the air around me, the sun shone brilliantly through the woods surrounding our log home.

I saw wild blackberries ripening in our spontaneous, entirely self-governing blackberry patch. Some are tinted with just a hint of pink, some are still a pale green, some are red. None are black yet. But I know they will be. Soon the juicy, tangy sweetness of them will be converted into jam and spread with butter over homemade biscuits.

I cannot see the ripe berries yet. I only see un-ripe ones. But I know there will be ripe berries for me to enjoy later, if I just wait a little while.

I cannot see God. In the flesh, anyway. I see him in what he does, what he has promised he will do, and what I feel when I'm listening to him.

I will not get to enjoy those blackberries if I just sit comfortably in the house, in the air-conditioning, on my big soft bed, waiting for them to just fall into my mouth. Procuring those berries takes a little, well, maybe a lot of effort. I might be scratched by those wicked thorns, bitten by chiggers, (shudder) and burned by the sun while picking them.

I will not have a very fruitful life if I just coast along, not making any effort, acting totally lazy about improving myself and the world around me and refusing to grow up. Fact: Growing up is hard. There are thorns, there are bugs, and there are burns.

Yet ....

I know there is something greater waiting for me. Those ripe blackberries beckon. New stirrings and awakenings are rising up from the depths of my heart. God is real. This I know. Not just because the Bible tells me so - I see Him. He calls me by name. He comforts me when I've been hurt, and he is there when I cry out to him. God is with me as I walk through this life, and He will be waiting to welcome me into His heavenly kingdom someday.

If you haven't cried out to God, ever, there's no time like the present. If you grew up in church but ... something's stale in your relationship with our Heavenly Father- don't wait anymore. Refresh yourself. Spend some time with Him.

Get ready to pick those blackberries.

Love & Blessings,