A Prickly Place

The community we live in has hundreds of walking paths. We take family walks and bike rides every week.

This is our favorite time of year to enjoy the pathways.

Because there are blackberries. Everywhere.

We are berry pickers.

There's just something about picking fruit from a tree and eating it right there.

"They taste yummier if they haven't been washed off and if our hands are dirty," according to my kids.

Plus, the berries are free and I'm all about free.

And you can usually hear me say about 173 times, "Watch out for snakes. Please, watch out for snakes!" Because snakes like berries, almost as much as we do.

To get to the biggest and sweetest blackberries, you must fight your way through some nasty thorns. The best berries are usually deep within the bush. You can't wear gloves and grab the berries, so we end up with little thorns in our hands and legs.

And, those thorns hurt! Many times, before we can even enjoy the fruit, we have to remove the thorns.

But some sweet things are worth a few pesky thorns.

As a Christian, there are days I wish my life was free of worries, stress, trials and THORNS. Sometimes, I even feel entitled to this. When I find myself in a prickly place, I don't usually anticipate it. Or enjoy it. You know, because of all the thorns.

I want the sweet without the sour.

But according to James 1: 1-4, we are to;

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

When we pick berries, my kids anticipate the sweetness. They know we will be putting them on top of ice cream or baking a blackberry cobbler. They don't enjoy the thorns, though. There is much whining and complaining about those thorny stickers. But the fruit wouldn't be there without the thorns.

They grow together.

And so, even though it is challenging to 'take joy' in the prickly places, we must remember that those trial produce sweet fruit and character.

The next time you find a thorn in your flesh, remind yourself that the harvest will be abundant.

Prayer: Father, thank you for the sweet times. They sustain me. Especially when I'm in the prickly places that are uncomfortable and difficult. Help me to remember that You are with me and that through these difficult times, I'm becoming more like You. Amen.

In Him,

Kristen can be found daily at We are THAT family!