updated 5/6/13 – The Father – He’s put on my heart the need to open our heart homes to those outside our families, to pull them into our family – like He pulled us into His family. This road to the blueberry patch was not meant to be a selective road only for those we love in our immediate family – it was designed to for us to travel with a much larger family.
3 of 5 boys picked blueberries with me. Under duress, of course. 10 minutes out of town, down a gravel, winding road, beside a big creek bed that fills itself in its own seasons, to a hand-me-down blueberry patch, handed down from father to daughter. My crew was a mixture pickers, both eager and reluctant.
Blueberries are not high on their value list. Chocolate Popsicles would have been high on their picking list, if Chocolate Popsicles grew on bushes. I valued the fruit, recognizing that in the winter season, it would taste sweet to some of us, comfort and fill us with good things when nothing grew outside but Snow Trees.
14 lbs. we brought home. 14 lbs. to store away for later. The boys, they might not appreciate fruit picking, but it is good to learn how to find the ripe berries, to fill the bucket, to pay the price, whether paying in dollars or sweat, to be shown the road where the good fruit is found.
“Go stand at the crossroads and look around. Ask for directions to the old road, The tried and true road. Then take it.” (Jeremiah 16:6a)
Right and wrong – it exists; its truth impacts; it needs to be taught, to ears willing and unwilling, even during berry picking.
“Discover the right route for your souls” (Jeremiah 16:6a)
The boys, they didn’t want to go, they balked, they tried to dig in.
“But they said, ‘Nothing doing. We aren’t going that way.'”(Jeremiah 16:6b)
They tried to talk me out of berry picking. My experience allowed me to not back down.
For now, it is my job to show them the old roads, the tried and true road that leads to where the good fruit can be found, where things of God can be found, so that when they are in charge of the direction of their souls, when they wander away, they know the way back, that at the end of the windy, dirt road that seems out-of-the-way – is where the fruit that sustains is found.
It is a road they will come back to, when they’ve wandered away. They come back because they know it’s there – because someone cared enough to show them, despite the grousing, the bug bites, the sweat on a hot afternoon or the sand in the eyes in the early morning. Don’t just take your children or teens, though – take their friends, your friends, the lady sitting by herself a few pews ahead of you, the mom who seems alone – show others that road like the Blueberry Patch Road – that leads to Him.
Joining Nacole at Six in the Sticks where today “We “write out spirit” by practicing writing about the invisible using concrete words:” Roads – join us over there – bring a cup of coffee, sit with us – share:)
Seriously, yum! I love blueberries. I’ll have to try out this recipe!
Oh, you would have to give the recipe! It looks delicious!
I love the way you spin scripture with the life of your boys. What a great message as always!
Bless you!
Beth
http://mydestinysharinghope.com/
What a lovely way to teach such beautiful Truth!
Blue berries are so yummy! I wish we had a place to pick them here 😦
That recipe sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing.
That looks so wonderful! I love blueberries. I’d like to plant some bushes one spring.
I was thinking pancakes with blueberries. Yummy! I love them when they’re freshly-picked like that…They might not like the idea and the job but few years down the road, they will learn why their good mother had them take the right road that sometimes, no one wants to take. I’m sure they’d be grateful. And the reward of the sweat would be all worth the labor and waiting…better than these yummy blueberries. God bless.
My mouth’s watering for blueberries now! I love how you guide your children along the tested and tried paths. Thank you for encouraging by example!
I mourned with our local strawberry garden lost its blueberry bushes. I can eat gallons of them at a time when they’re fresh. What a wonderful way to fit my favorite fruit in with such a vital lesson!
Wait!! I just saw those individual salt & pepper shakers – my mom had the very same ones only her lids were green. That was a neat memory kick!
Thanks for the recipe! I love blue berries and have always wanted to take my kids berry picking. I always miss it! Maybe next year. Enjoy the fruits of your labor 🙂
That looks so delicious….thank you for linking it to Foodie Wednesday and thank you for your sweet comment.
Yes, if chocolate popsicles grew in the middle of wilderness my boys would right up there picking them as well…..picking any kind of berries is not up their alley. Lucky for them I get them at Farmer’s market cause we don’t have any places to pick them around our house.
I remember going up in the hills with my grandpa picking wild blueberries with these special forks. They were the best tasting blueberries….
Looks delish.
We’d love you to share your recipes with us at
Simply Delish Saturday
What a wonderful mixture of simple everyday with profound truth, lovely. The fruit of your labor looks delicious too!
14 lbs of blueberries! Sounds like fruit heaven! 🙂
Thank you for sharing the recipe and beautiful analogy of guiding our children along the right (Godly) paths in life.
Oooh, that sounds delicious. I might have to make it smaller, though…since there’s only 2 of us!
Wonderful post, so true. Last weekend my son didn’t want to spend some family time out of town with us because he had to come late and leave early for work. Still we knew the truth, we needed the family connection time. And, while he might not admit it, he was so glad we made him come. Some days it is hard to keep them moving forward but so worth it.
Love this interweaving of blueberry picking with the biblical narrative from Jeremiah. How important it is “to be shown the road where the good fruit is found” and to “show others that road…that leads to Him”. We have gathered fruit by spending time here. Thank you! Over here for the first time from Nacole’s link-up page. Blessings 🙂 x