Greenberries
and the dichotomies of living in a broken world.
Blackberries begin as greenberries… or actually as blossoms that don’t look anything like a berry.
The melt-in-your-mouth tang of a perfectly ripe takes time to develop. If you try one too soon, pucker-worthy acidity reminds, “Wait!”
Nascent greenberries tell me life is always lived one day at a time. Time that passes quickly on the good days and oh so slowly in hospital rooms, and when you’re waiting to find out if you got the job, and when you’re between paychecks.
Berries are rooted in reality. We didn’t dream of berries and poof, get berries. Gifted by dear friends several years ago, it took a couple of seasons before they yielded anything.
Last year brought the first full harvest at Bright Berry Farm, three years after placing five hundred rootlings in the ground.
It’s easy to forget the life cycles of nature when you can press a button on an electronic device for an instant dopamine hit of all-consuming sensory overload.
Even if God spoke the universe into existence with a single word (and I believe He did) He’s unfolding it through the dimension of our existence: time.
Dreams require time to blossom and ripen. You really must sow what you want to reap.
Relationships grow from seeds of time shared —all kinds of time: mundane, or not.
Careers begin with willingness to listen and learn, diligence at less than entertaining tasks and not being in charge (at first).
It’s hard to wait.
I am still learning there are no shortcuts. True confession, two nights ago I was up at 2:00 a.m. creating a spreadsheet for how we could move to Bright Berry Farm sooner. The little house next door has come up for sale... Since it doesn’t look like I’m going to buy it, come be our neighbor. We’ll get out there eventually.
Praises
God answered our prayer last week for a friend’s good results from an A-fib procedure. Thank you, Lord!
In the midst of a corporate merger/buyout a highly talented (and humble) woman has landed a strategic role! Praise God for His favor on someone I have admired a long time.
Praise God for the loving people and pets he places around us.
Rico says thank God my mom and dad still put up with my chewing… God, we thank you for new friends and old.
Praise God for young people adulting and trying out career options.
Last week we prayed for a friend having re-attachment surgery after a colostomy. Praise God no cancer (the presenting problem) was found! We continue to ask for complete healing.
We have been praying for a widow whose husband recently committed suicide. A thoughtful reader sent contact information for a therapist (Dr. Melinda Moore (859) 457-1210) who specializes in those kinds of circumstances. Praise God for connections who care and share.
Prayers
A woman goes for a surgical consult June 10 for thyroid cancer. Lord, we pray for your thorough healing upon her.
A young man seeks employment. Open doors Lord, we pray, and ask that he will be encouraged along the way.
A girl is setting off on a long journey. Dear Lord we ask for your guiding presence and protection upon her.
Lord God we ask for blessing upon travel plans during this summer season.
And—we ask forgiveness for losing sight of those not in the news who suffer. Bring Your Kingdom, God we pray in the name of Jesus.
Quests
There are some articles you should not read just before bedtime. I encountered a horrific and excellent one by Mindy Belz in the latest edition of Christianity Today about the work of 2018 Nobel Prize Winner, Dr. Denis Mukwege, OB-GYN who serves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Some excerpts:
“For more than 30 years, war has ravaged South Kivu’s population. Outside forces, including Rwanda and Uganda, support rebel troops in a pitched battle that’s mostly about monopolizing Congo’s trove of raw minerals essential to technology.
“The AI-fueled thirst for technology runs on cobalt—and the world’s top producer is Congo.
“…many in the developed world know little about this conflict that’s caused more than 5 million deaths and untold atrocities including widespread sexual violence.
The article describes Mukwege’s efforts to bring healing—especially to the victims of sexual violence in his home country. Since treating the first patient (a woman shot and raped by five men) the hospital Mukwege helped establish has treated more than 70,000 women for rape.
Click here to read the full article.
Support the efforts of the Mukwege Foundation
Learn more here:
“The women of Congo: Worldwide fame for Denis Mukwege has not brought an end to the atrocities he treats” by
The Power of Women: A Doctor’s Journey of Hope and Healing by Doctor Denis Mukwege
“Dr. Mukwege’s dramatic personal story is interwoven throughout as he explores the bigger issues that have become a focus of his advocacy. He will seek to explain why sexual violence is so often overlooked during war, and how governments need to recognize and compensate victims. He will also stress the importance of breaking down the taboos surrounding assault, and the necessity of building a system that supports women who come forward.”
E360 (Yale School of the Environment) Interview with Siddharth Kara, author of Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives
U.S. Department of Labor
Amnesty International
Until Next Week
Once again the dichotomy of living in a broken world—on the one hand beautiful and the other devastating (and all completely dependent on the mere element of where you were born) is hard to bear. Thank you Kimberly Deckel for this Prayer for the Walking Wounded. Pray along with me.
Kimberly Deckel is a priest in the Anglican Church of North America. She lives in Pflugerville, Texas, with her family and serves at Church of the Cross, Austin. Her prayer was featured in the May/June edition of Christianity Today.
With love,
Jana
p.s. I have this idea. The longitude and latitude for Kinshasa, the Capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is 4.3° S, 15.3° E.
Add those numbers and you get 19.6
So, what if on the first day of the month, at 9:00 a.m. you turned off your cellphone (all the way off) for 6 minutes to call attention to cobalt supply chain humanitarian issues?
What if a bunch of people did?
Your thoughts welcome in the comments.