The Right Time

As a fun adventure for our last half-day of our visit with Donnie and Rachel, Cousin Kelly and I followed them to a local farm for some good, old-fashioned berry-picking.  Our friend Kessia Reyne also joined us, and soon we found ourselves in a field, searching for ripe raspberries.  It turned out to be quite challenging, and Kessia said it was something she thought I would blog about.  So this one is for you, Kessia Reyne. 

When I first started picking raspberries, I was really tempted to go ahead and pick the almost-ripe berries.  I mean, maybe they’d ripen later, like bananas.  (Doubt it).  Or maybe they wouldn’t taste that awful.  After all, if I was willing to take the slightly-unripe berries, it would not take long to fill my little berry box.  They seemed to be everywhere, while the ripe ones had to be hunted down.  But as Kessia wisely advised, why pay for fruit you don’t really want?  So…on with the ripe berry hunt.  I had to find the berries that were ready, and leave the berries that were not ready.  It had to be the right time.  That meant more work, but tasty berries.

In life, there are seasons of waiting.  Waiting is associated with patience, but it’s not just about learning patience.  It’s about the right time.  Instead of letting the "awaited-thing" completely take up my attention, I can focus on the things I am ready for, and that are ready for me.  These are the blessings God wants me to have right now.  I don’t have to wait for them—they are already sweet in my mouth. There are plenty of “almost-blessings” out there that are tempting to wish for and try to rush, but it’s not the right time for them yet.  Later it might be, but for now, I can ask God to train my eyes to see the blessings fully ripe and ready for picking, and enjoy them with gratitude to God for giving them to me now.  When I do that, I find that there are plenty more blessings than I thought. 

"...Where you are right now is God's place for you.  Live and obey and love and believe right there..."  1 Cor. 7:17  (The Message)