BLACK JEWELS
Written by Deborah
10/30/03
"Ouch, ooh, yikes, I'm stuck Danielle. Can you please help me?"
"Okay Mom, but I keep telling you not to reach so far, you keep getting stuck."
"I know, but that's where those really BIG black jewels are at--they're huge and gorgeous in there."
In an effort to provide the best for God's people at our CHRISTIAN ADOPTION FAMILY REUNIONS, we continue to look for ways to prepare food that has been organically grown and covered in prayer. So was the daily decision each July morning, as I picked our home grown, abundant, gigantic, lovely, sweet, tasty, plump blackberries. Some mornings Danielle came to help me fill up yet another container with these "unbelievably" beautiful berries. "Mom, what are you going to make with these for the next reunion?" "We'll freeze them in large batches for now and then during the reunion in June, we'll bake fresh blackberry cobblers. When the peaches are ripe, we'll pick and prepare those for the freezer and use them in cobblers too. These desserts will be DELICIOUS and we'll keep them covered in prayer while we pick the berries, while they wait for us in the freezer, and finally as we prepare the cobblers." "Mom, can I eat some now?" "Absolutely, eat as many as you want. There's more than we can possibly pick. God has blessed us with such a crop this year; we'll never get them all picked. Look at how much we've picked just from these few bushes! We've had so much rain this year these berries are like black jewels! God is so good to us--even with blackberries!" "Why don't we just go buy these berries at the store for the cobblers?" "Well we could, but then we wouldn't have this time out here together and they taste so much better fresh from our own vines. Besides, by picking them ourselves we can pray about what we're doing and pray about blessing our CA family with homemade cobblers made with homegrown berries." "Oh no, I'm caught now Mom. Can you pull on that vine, the thorns are in the back of my legs?"
And so the 45-60 minute picking session would continue--pick, reach, get stuck, and unstuck. There's an art to picking berries without getting caught by the thorns, pricked by the needle like spikes or becoming entangled with the canes. There's also some super "life lessons" in the blackberry patch.
Berry vines, as in raspberry and blackberry, have canes that are covered with needle like thorns. The older the cane (stalk) the bigger the thorns. Each thorn has a tiny hook on the end, so they're terrific at "hooking" into one's skin. Younger canes have smaller thorns but they're sharper and more numerous than a 1 or 2 year cane. The thorns grow in a downward arch, much like the fangs on a poisonous snake. In other words, it can be easy to reach deep into a cane patch for picking, but treacherous to get back out.
Day after day, I included in my morning chores, some blackberry picking time. There's a limited window for harvesting these tasty morsels and this year it was in July. The mental battle included pain along with patience. Bumblebees buzzed around the patch, butterflies alighted on overripe berries, and wasps darted in and out. The mosquitoes kept me busy wiggling, while the flies were a nuisance. As the heat index arose during a 45-60 minute "picking quota", so did my resolve to fill up that day's chosen container. "Just a few more berries and it will be full…" However, the daily temptation was to reach deep into the thickets to pick those elusive and untouched black jewels. "Hmmm…I see a dozen giant berries in there…if I just reach in there, I can fill the bucket faster and be done for today." Time and time again I'd fight with my mind, to reach or not to reach. "Those berries, no matter how lovely, are simply out of reach. I'll get stuck, I'll get scratched up, I'll be in pain…but they're so perfect and so big…if I just reach this ONE time, maybe I won't…"
I was reminded over and over again about the daily temptation every Christian Adoption couple faces--the temptation to "reach for what is not attainable" and the result is a painful experience.
Our flesh wants deliverance and answers yesterday. The spiritual man or woman knows that waiting and obeying God's guidance yields rewards in this lifetime and for all eternity. Through the years, I've watched Christians reach for "black jewels" whose pathway is littered with painful thorns. Going in is painless; getting back out is painfully difficult. As Christians that seek to imitate Jesus Christ, we would be wise to seek our Father's instructions before getting stuck by temptation.
Life lesson #1: The faster one picks, the more entangled one becomes; for in haste are errors in judgement.
Life lesson #2: When one reaches due to temptation, it becomes a painful experience.
Life lesson #3: Bigger or faster doesn't mean better.
Life lesson #4: Temptation comes in many forms and the "hooks" cause pain.
Life lesson #5: It's wise to determine if the potential pain is worth the risk.
In less than a year, we'll be sharing our blackberry picking efforts with God's best. In less than a year, many Christian Adoption couples will have successfully adopted their "black jewels". Some will succumb to temptation and "go for it" without their heavenly Father's guidance.
Prayerfully most will patiently wait upon God's impeccable timing, for Him to hold their hand, and for His perfect time of harvest.
For more information please read Light and Will. We encourage you to prayerfully consider registering with our service, and/or writing to us.
adoption@christianadoption.com
A non-profit Christian and Internet
service ministry. We're helping others in the adoption
process.
1.800.277.7006 620.251.4405
Deborah S. Hill P.O. Box 243 Coffeyville, KS 67337
www.christianadoption.com adoption@christianadoption.com
