We picked strawberries today at a berry farm. As we walked in the warm California sunshine, stopping every so often to check out the strawberries, and choosing to pick one from the vine or to keep on walking in the hopes of looking for one that was just a bit more ripe, I couldn't help but compare this act of growing and maturing on the part of the sweet treat to our experiences as humans.
How often do we yearn for that moment of readiness? Wouldn't we all rather want to be the bright shiny vibrant strawberry rather than the small yellow or green budding one?
How often do we rush the process?
Or grow impatient in the waiting and eventual ripening?
Seeing the strawberries today were a small reminder to trust in the timing of it all.
If we rush in picking the strawberries before they are ready to be picked, we would be robbed of the sweetness they have to offer in their maturity.
The same could be said for our lives. If we skip to the end result, we might not recognize the beauty that comes with the stretching, with the pressing, and with the transforming as we change and evolve to (hopefully) better versions of ourselves.
I once heard a pastor say, "God is never late, but generally He is not early either." There is so much truth in that deceptively simple sentence. The time span for strawberries to bloom and then be ready to be picked ranges from four to six weeks. That is a relatively short span of time but for that strawberry in the moment, it may feel an eternity in evolving from flower to the fruit we are familiar with in dessert form...or in the form of the yummy strawberry margarita my sister-in-law made for me tonight. 😊 I wonder if that is what it will seem like at the end of our lives when we look back with a new understanding...all those days of pain and suffering or waiting for the next thing may seem so short in the grand scheme of things once we see the big picture.
Earlier today, Charlotte and I were talking about purpose in lives and vocations when she wondered if she might have a job or "pick a boy" when she grows up...We don't know what the future holds but we know who holds it. God uses the times we find ourselves in waiting. Nothing is wasted and growth and change are always occurring...even if we can't see or feel it. I don't know what Charlotte's life will wind up looking like but I do trust in the process of waiting and being pruned. However, we can't reap the harvest without the growing from a small seed, bursting through the cover/dirt, and blooming where we are planted!
One of the songs from mass today, as we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, was about the vine and bearing fruit. How appropriate for today's fun family outing of going strawberry picking! May we all be more like the strawberries and allow ourselves to change and ripen to be used to our full extent possible...if we are just patient enough.
