Well, we are back on the journey with keys2unlock and I’m thankful and desire to share with anyone that is willing to read and approach this with an open heart and arms. I’m glad to be back thank you to everyone that has encouraged me I appreciate and love you all. So, let’s jump right in.
Recently I have been trying my hand at a few things that I have never done before. During this extended break from keys2Unlock there has been a lot of moving parts on my end. I have taken on raising chickens and I am trying my hand at gardening. It has been very interesting, and I realized that it is an important job to stay on top of the plants so that they can grow and be healthy for the harvest. During this process I have been in contact with some folks that have become my gardening community. One of them shared with us a blackberry bush and since then I have learned some things about the blackberry bush.
There are wild blackberry bushes and then there are the cultivated/tame blackberry bushes which I will call the not so wild bushes. The wild ones have thorns, but the not so wild ones or the garden variety are bred to be thornless. Blackberry bushes are on a two-year cycle, and they have branches that grow berries during the season. When that season is over those branches die off and never produce fruit again and there are new branches that begin to grow and those branches will grow berries in the next season. Year one branches are called Primocanes and year two branches are called Floricanes, and these are the ones that are pruned after the harvest because they will not grow fruit again. The cycle repeats itself again.
Note that the term bramble bush refers to a rough, prickly shrub, most commonly from the Rubus family, which includes blackberries and raspberries. Biblically bramble bushes are mentioned and usually mean something bad or in symbolic contrast warns of a dangerous or arrogant leader who causes mostly pain. Or maybe like in Luke 6:43-45 where Jesus talks about a person’s character and how a bitter, harsh or prickly person on the inside cannot naturally produce good loving actions outwardly. Are you the wild blackberry bush that you invite people in to offer something wonderful and sweet only to dismantle them with your thorns of harshness that cause pain and hurt? Or are you the thornless bush or the not so wild blackberry bush that is the evidence of redemption. The painful thorns/weapons have been removed and the fruit remains. The interesting part is pruning is necessary for both the wild and the not so wild blackberry bush. The wild one should be pruned to keep it from overtaking or damaging everything around it so out of fear of the destruction it can cause. The not so wild ones are pruned in anticipation of what they will produce, so that the branches can focus on growing the fruit and when the season is over that part is pruned away to focus on the next season’s fruit. Or the future work that God has in store.
So, I guess the question is are you being pruned to contain your destructive nature or to unveil your maximum fruitfulness. Ultimately, we need to check our heart and ask God to search us and reveal which one of the bushes we are. Some of us will learn that we are the wild one and need redemption. It’s ok. That means it’s time to ask Him (Jesus) into your heart. Tell Him you do not want to be destructive; you no longer want to cause pain and hurt but you want to be fruitful and maximize your fruitfulness in Him.
Thank you for reading and taking this journey, thank you for your patience and encouragement, it has not gone unnoticed. Love and Blessings to you until the next keys2unlock!
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