Hello friends. Sorry for my silence of late. The past few months have been busy, and it’s also been harder than I first realized. I apologize for the months with no posts. Hopefully, I will do better about writing in the weeks ahead.
On Thursday, I was back to doing my weekly 6.5-mile walk after a couple of weeks away. I didn’t feel great and didn’t want to go, but I donned my walking shoes and dragged myself out the door. Along the way, I noticed the blackberries that hadn’t quite ripened before I left. Most I noticed at first were past ripe or partially eaten by birds and bugs. Those that looked good, seemed just out of reach. I thought maybe I’d missed my chance to pick a few to enjoy along the way.
Once I began to notice berries that looked ready to be eaten and were within reach, something held me back. I wondered what people would think if I stopped to pick wild blackberries along the path. I thought perhaps they weren’t for me, and I shouldn’t take them. But finally, I reached out to pick one that looked delicious. I was soon reminded that looks can be deceiving as the berry squished and left a mess of juice (and a spider web) all over my hand.
After that messy blackberry, I walked for perhaps another mile, noticing loads of lovely berries along the way, but I hesitated to reach for any others. Every time I was tempted by a good-looking berry, I remembered the mess of the last one I tried to grasp. I fought the internal voice urging me to trust for a better result this time because I didn’t want to deal with another mess or disappointment.
At that moment, I recognized those blackberries were far more to me than just wild berries along a path. They were a picture of gifts that God gives, dreams I’ve had for years, and hopes for the things I believe God’s spoken. I realized that at times I have fallen for the lies that I don’t deserve those things, that those are for others but not for me. And often, when I’ve finally believed maybe I could have the things I’ve dreamt of, I’m left with a mess of hurt and disappointment to show for it.
As that realization dawned, I heard a prompting in my heart to “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8 – I discovered several hours later that was the verse of the day for my Bible app that day). It still took me longer than it should have to reach out and pick some of the berries, but eventually, I did taste the goodness of God in them. And as I walked (and ate), I discovered abundance. I could have filled buckets with the berries I saw during the rest of my walk.
I don’t know whether any of you have struggled with feeling undeserving, disappointed, messy, or just scared to believe that the gifts and goodness of God are for you. Those could all describe a bit of what I’ve felt this summer. But I was reminded on Thursday to taste and see that God is good.
Sometimes it’s a risk to believe and reach for something. Perhaps, like me, you’ve reached for the wrong thing and ended up with a mess, but that doesn’t mean we’re disqualified from the abundance God offers.
I don’t know what it looks like for you to “taste and see.” To be honest, I’m not completely sure what that looks like for me at the moment either, but I choose to let God clean up the mess left by disappointments and to believe His goodness and promises are for me. I hope you are encouraged to do the same. Let’s taste and see His abundant goodness today.
