Blessings in the Blackberries

 My car broke down this week which is pretty upsetting considering that I only just recently have been able to drive it. But I'm believing that God is going to fix it because it was Him that gave me the car after all. In faith, I've been walking half a mile to where my car broke down to see if it will start. Today as I was on my way to go test it, I saw a big blackberry bush and I was overcome with excitement. I couldn't help but say, "Oh thank You God, thank You God." over and over again. As I walked to my car I knew that even if it didn't turn on that I'd still have blackberries. 

I love blackberries. For me, it is one of the flavors intrinsic to summer. Just the sight of them makes me flashback to when I was a kid. My Grandma and I would always go on walks after dinner, when I would spend the night, and along the dirt road sometimes we would find blackberry bushes. It was as if we had stumbled upon a candy store. We'd pick them, talk, laugh, and eat all the while and then when we got back to the house, I went to sleep knowing that I'd be woken up by the smell of blackberry muffins. I also hold so many fond memories with my mom and I picking blackberries and her making all kinds of goodies with them. In my heart, blackberries are gold. 

As I jiggled the key in the ignition over and over, praying for it to start, all of these memories and more were flashing through my mind. So I got out of the car and said, "Still I will praise You." I went to the trunk of my car to try and find something to put the blackberries in and wouldn't you know it that the drug dealer who stole my car left behind a reusable shopping bag?! Well there ya go! Blessings in the storms. 

I went on and began picking my blessings, making sure that I got every one. You see so many times we are so focused on what we want or what we need that we miss out on the most precious blessings that God has for us. At first I was so diligent about picking every single one but then I'd see bigger ones a few steps away and so I'd go and get those. Then I'd look back over where I had come from and from that angle I could see more big ones that I didn't see before. So I was constantly going back and forth back and forth; sometimes getting so sidetracked with what was next to me that I missed what was in front of me. Sometimes so occupied with the ones within reach that I missed the jackpots amidst the thorns. 

I had to leave a lot of blackberries behind because the sun was going down and I didn't want to get back to the base too late. So I got back, washed them, and tried one...they were SO SWEET that I grabbed the bag, more people, and went back to pick more blessings. 

I'm going to keep going to my car everyday to see if my car has been healed and if not...well there's always blackberries.