BITTER BERRIES

My little A. G. just can't resist picking the strawberries out of our garden.

Only problem is, they aren't ready. Not even close! She picks them when they're pale and bitter rather than waiting until they're deep red, juicy and sweet.

And every time she plucks another berry off the vine, it means that what could have been scrumptious and sweet never will be. It was never allowed to become what it was made to be.

I keep wondering if there are meant-to-be-sweet things I keep trying to pluck from the vine before they're ready--things that God will have in store for me, when they're ready--and not until then.

But I'm like a child who just doesn't understand. I see the beginnings of something, and I don't want to have to wait for it to come to fruition. I want to enjoy it now.

But that's just it--I won't enjoy it now!--Not in the state it's in. There's a big difference between the taste of a tiny white unripe strawberry, and a deep red, ripe and ready strawberry. And by trying to devour it before it's ready, I'm left with a mouth full of bitterness. Sometimes I just wish I could really take hold of this in my mind. Even if I could have it before it was ready, I really wouldn't want it.

I wouldn't want that job that isn't ready for me.
I wouldn't want that future mate until he or she is ready for me.
I wouldn't want that opportunity that God hasn't fully brought to completion.
I wouldn't want that thing for which my heart aches until it's time, as God has determined.

Sometimes we're just glad to have something--something rather than nothing. But it is far, far better to have nothing than a not-yet-ready something. I mean, really-which would you rather have--an empty mouth, or a mouthful of bitter berries?

LORD, strengthen me to wait for You to bring Your plans to fruition. I can wait peacefully and confidently, knowing that when You've brought it all the way to its ripest and readiest state, it is sure to be something sweet. Thank You that You are worthy of my trust, and the ready-er of all good things.

He makes all things beautiful in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:11