A Guest Post by Renee Regacho-Anaclerio
Renee is a spiritual director, leadership coach, and equity trainer. She lives in Newcastle with her husband Vince, her Labrador Retriever Teddy, and her three-legged goat Sophie.
(from Robin) If you’ve been reading here for the past few months, you know that I’ve been captivated by the blackberries growing wild around my house. I’ve been doing my best to clear them, my personal Blackberry Project. The blackberries have been teaching me about commitment and the goodness of faithfully showing up. So I was thrilled when Renee shared this reflection with me. Renee’s writing brought a new, deeper dimension to my blackberry pondering. I’m happy that she allowed me to share it with you.
During the summer, we walked in the early mornings—quiet walks down our country roads. It was a time to get some exercise, a time for quiet introspection. And for several weeks, a time to pick blackberries! These picking adventures became spiritual lessons. I don’t wear gloves, so I carefully had to maneuver my fingers between the thorns to pick the juicy black gems. Here’s what I learned from our walks and what the blackberries taught me:
Lesson 1: Our morning walks are prayerful and often offer surprises. A fawn, a coyote, a tiny bird, a nest of bunnies. It is important to pay attention. It is as if God is saying, “Look! I am doing something new!”
Lesson 2: Blackberries ripen at different times. Each clump has green ones that are just developing, red and purple ones that, although pretty, are not ready yet (and are sour) and black ones that are just right for picking. When the black ones are at their peak ripeness, they come off easily. If it doesn’t give gently into my hand, it’s not meant for me today. Everything has its time. Forcing something before its time usually doesn’t have a good outcome.
Lesson 3: Blackberries are for everyone. During our first few walks, I was a little annoyed when the patch that I had been watching carefully was picked by someone else. I had staked a claim to those berries! Then I saw how the berries come in a steady flow throughout the summer. There is an abundance, enough for all of us! Imagine how the world could be if we remembered that?
Lesson 4: I discovered that when I was looking longingly at the big, plump berries deeper in the bush and just out of reach, there was usually a similarly wonderful berry right at my feet, unnoticed, waiting. God’s that way: always there, waiting.
Lesson 5: The best path to something of value is often a gentle, humble, around-about way. Going after a berry that is deeper in the bush can be accomplished if I come at it from underneath or from the side where there is a little tunnel through the thorns. It’s a gentle movement of working with the plant rather than an aggressive frontal attack. That seems to apply to people too.
Lesson 6: Blackberries have thorns and so does life. I’ve learned when you get snagged, move in towards the bush, don’t pull away. The thorns release their grip that way. If you pull back, they only dig their thorns in deeper. Maybe there’s a lesson there about life’s pain. Lean into it, and face it. Pulling away and avoidance only make it hurt more.
Leaning in puts it in perspective and the path through it always has holy places, a burning bush.
Lesson 7: They have to repave our country road every few years. The plants slowly take back their space. The softest blades of grass push their way up through the asphalt. Whatever we try to tame and control ultimately overcomes our boundaries. Just as the smallest plant breaks through the hard, solid road, God will not be contained, even by our tabernacles. But if we trust with patience, God will provide for us with abundance.
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