Blackberry Moments
This is a post I wrote last summer. A reminder as we enter the last half of summer to slow down, enter the moments, engage fully. Reap the rewards.
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” Robert Brault
As I embark on this journey to create more moments and memories with my family, I’ve realized that without complete intentionality, the moments have the propensity to slip away completely. Time never slows down. It moves at a consistent pace. However, our pace determines the outcome of the moment. Our pace determines the extent to which we can fully engage in the fleeting moments of life with our family. Moments are all around us. Experiences are available for the taking. Memories are waiting to be created. Traditions are waiting to be developed and claimed.
To grab the moments, we must be available. Life needs to be a little less complicated, a little less distracted, a little less busy. Buffers of time must exist in order to capture the moments that sometimes crop up unexpectedly, without warning.
We have one chance to paint a beautiful life. Lord willing, the day will come when we have more time on our hands than we know how to fill. Our houses will be quieted. Our homes will look the same way at 7 am, 12 pm, 5 pm, and 8 pm. Because there will be no block towers built, no army scenes created, no pillow forts constructed, and no sword fights fought.
A couple of weeks ago, Jacob and I went for a run. For me, the actual run was not a good one. My foot was hurting, and I couldn’t quit cramping. Our pace had to change. Our “run” turned into a walk. I continued to apologize to Jacob for slowing him down as I urged him to go ahead, to leave me behind. He wouldn’t do it. He is loyal like that, and he wanted to be with me. He wasn’t running to exercise, he was running so that he could enter my time and space, and he didn’t want to lose that. My “bad” run was a blessing in disguise. God is good like that. Lord, help me see the lemonade through the lemons.
As we neared our house at the end of our walk, I noticed a small patch of wild blackberry bushes. “Jacob, look over there! It’s blackberries!” Always cautious, he asked, “Can we eat them?” I replied, “Yes, we can. And we will be picking and eating them for weeks!” I watched his eyes light up immediately at the thought of spending days together picking blackberries, watching for the red ones to turn to deep purple, spending time together making yummy blackberry treats. For him our blackberry discovery equaled precious moments and memories with me.
Jacob, so wise beyond his young years, said as we walked back home, “You know, Mom, it’s a good thing we weren’t running today and we were walking instead. If we were running, we would have missed the blackberries completely.”
Right you are, my sweet boy, right you are. If we walk rather than run through life, we will reap the rewards of countless blackberry moments.