I mentioned in yesterday’s post how this year has been a hard season for our garden.
Conversely, this has not been the case when it comes to the blackberries! This season has been one of the best for the blackberries!
The long, extended months of cold and rain (which took a heavy toll on the garden) were exactly what the blackberries needed to thrive! Blackberries need lots and lots of water to become sweet and juicy. Because of all the rain throughout May and June, the blackberries vines are absolutely loaded with the biggest, sweetest blackberries ever!
Relationships are much like this contrast between the garden and the blackberries.
We all have multiple different relationships in our lives with a variety of different people. Our different relationships vary widely from each other. In one area of our life, a particular relationship might be in a difficult “season” … much like the garden this year. Simultaneously, at the same time, we could have a relationship in another area of our life, and that particular relationship might be thriving … much like the blackberries this year.
One of the reasons the garden suffered this year was because I did not have the time to invest in cultivating it. We all have some relationships in our life which require a lot of “cultivation.” These relationships need lots of time and attention … lots of “watering” and “weeding” in order to flourish. As a result, the “relational garden” is one which is well-cared-for and inviting.
Simultaneously, in another area of our life, we might have a completely different relationship with someone else, and that particular relationship does not need any cultivation … it just happens … it just grows however the winds of weather blow. If the winds of weather are just right, the relationship is great! It is “best friendship ever!” However, if the winds of weather happen to be blowing a dry hot spell, then the relationship is practically non-existent … nothing but “small hard sour blackberries.” On the whole, the relationship is not exactly an inviting place … it’s more-or-less wild … growing whichever way life takes it … much like the wild blackberries.
Different relationships in our lives can simultaneously be in completely different “seasons.”
What about your life? What “seasons” are the different relationships in your life in?
