Blackberry Jelly (08/15/2026)

One of my favorite foods growing up was my mother’s blackberry jelly. Ironically, gathering the berries is one of my least favorite memories from growing up. When we’d wake up and walk to the kitchen for breakfast those summer mornings and see the berry baskets on the table, we’d cringe. We knew it meant we were going berry picking, sludging through the brambles and weeds, dodging the thorns on the bushes, on the lookout for snakes and other critters, swatting bugs and wiping the sweat off our faces. Life is like blackberry jelly moments; part of what makes them so special and good is remembering what it took to get there. 

I no longer pick blackberries, but my life still contains moments, lots of moments, when I’d rather be anywhere else but I know that where I am is where I am supposed to be, doing the task at hand. Along the Way, following in Christ’s footsteps, we find we are sent into moments that bring struggles and even suffering, but within those moments we can also see our LORD at work in us, with us, and through us. As his disciples, we learn to go where we are sent and do the work He places before us.

We all want to be part of the heavenly feast; we all want life in abundance with our LORD. But our future joy depends upon our willingness in the present to do what is required of us. But we don’t do it alone; we don’t go it alone, not really. Always and everywhere the LORD is with us. And often we are blessed by the company of other disciples, other pilgrims on the journey.

As we continue on our way in faith, hope, and love this day and all our future days, let us savor the gifts of the LORD at hand in creation as well as in our sisters and brothers who accompany us on the way. Let us embrace opportunities that allow us to bear fruit for the LORD through our efforts even when those opportunities are challenging or painful. Let us take direction from the Spirit and cooperate with the graces provided.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.