Friday, June 11, 2010

Be still

Stewart had fun with the camera during is break.
Last Saturday Mary Anne, my neighbor/friend/(lady we rent from),  invited us to go blueberry picking near Gainsville.
The blueberries were free and plentiful she said.
Even though my dad was arriving that afternoon to visit us  from out of town I figured that it was less than an hour and half there so we wouldn't be gone too long.
It was Very hot last Saturday so we dressed appropriately and grabbed hats.
Turns out, "Near" meant SW of Gainsville....over 2 hrs away.
As the driving progressed I got anxious and had to tell myself to be still. 
But we kept driving farther and farther.
Why was I doing this?
It started to pour down rain.
What was I thinking?
More rain.
Be still.
The rain stoped.
I had no idea what to expect and as we drove down the very narrow dirt road. I was still wondering and then the road opened up and there were the blueberry fields and we turned and drove in between another field and then another and then we stoped.  It hadn't rained there at all, there was slight breeze and not as warm as Jacksonville had been when we left at noon.
It was delightful.
At some point I stopped picking and just looked around at the hills of blueberrie bushes and the trees bordering the property, the light filtering clouds in the sky and thought that I'd love to bottle up that afternoon to open up on another day.
The kids enjoyed filling up their basket and I could hear Mary Anne chatting with her friend (that told her about the place) and I could hear her husband saying he was done and ready to go home.  The kids followed Anwar's lead and asked if they could be done.  Take a break, I said, get a snack and a drink and then fill up one more basket.
Awww, do we have to?
Yes, I said, think of Gramma or Mrs. Hoadley or Grandaddy. They might like some blueberries.
So they did.
And here it is Friday and I still have one last bag to sort and rinse. I made a blueberry cobler on Monday with 6 cups of them...I liked it but the rest of the family didn't care for the new recipe using cornmeal in the cobbler part.
There are 8 quarts in the freezer and 6 more cups rinsed and ready for my next try at a cobbler or pie.
I've been eating them with my cottage cheese in the morning and yogurt in the afternoons and in between times.
It was a spontaneous day and it was good.  It was good to condition my heart to be still.  Blueberries are good...God is good.
Cast all your anxiety on God because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5 : 7

2 comments:

sister sheri said...

Looks like you were using Longaberger baskets to pick your berries? What a fun day!

Melissa said...

I love blueberry picking. We have a place right down the road and we go there quite frequently.