With frost threatening after this dry summer, the fall crop of raspberries is minimal. Some berries formed, but the frost has nipped at them. They are singed with some gray-tones added to their dark red color. Some are without the luster of fresh berries.
I picked some of these berries today. With the chilly winds swirling I needed to to wear a sweater. I heard the creak of the tall arbor vitaes and the air currents bore down on the windbreak. Many of the berry bushes lacked their typical green leaves. The frost had its way with them, too.
As I went deeper into the raspberry patch I found several plants full of fruit; ripe, red and luscious. I thought, “Why are some dowdy and drying while others are red, lustrous and juicy?”
I found that those which looked the best grew on the plants that had bobbed their heads lowest in the patch. In so doing, their berries got the protection of the leaves above when the cold icy dew gripped the leaves and unprotected ones.
It is interesting that bowing their heads brought them shelter. That reminded me of Psalm 91:1, 2 (NIV).
“He who dwells in the shelter of the
Most High
will rest in the shadow of the
Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my
refuge and my fortress,
my God, in who I trust.”
We can take encouragement in the challenge we get from the raspberries. We can do as they do, bow our heads and dwell under the shelter of the Most High. As the psalmist says, He will be our refuge and the fortress in which to trust.
photo credit: Virens (Latin for greening) via photopin cc
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