blueberries are one of my favorite fruits! i've been wanting to plant a blueberry bush at my new house and when i moved in it was right at the optimum time for planting, yet when i went to look for them at the store i turned up empty handed...
shortly after moving to holland, i was reading something that talked about how it took newly planted blueberry bushes three years before they started to produce fruit. that from when they are first planted and through those first two seasons there is a steady pruning as their growth is directed toward putting down roots and strengthening limbs. the writer suggested that this too is often the case for us when we move to a new place... the description of the tender roots taking hold and harsh pruning resonate with me. the image of a strong bush with a delightful harvest of blueberries brought forth in the third season instilled me with hope...
it was after reading this that i decided i wanted a blueberry bush - to tend and to watch and to remember
today while perusing the store in search of a compost bin to buy, i happened across a discounted array of blueberry bushes. it is late for planting them, but i selected them in hopes that it isn't too late. tonight i planted them and when i stood back to look at my hard work, i remembered... a year ago today was my last day in state college with my dear dear friends there. it was on that evening when we shared a meal and watched silly songs online, we went to ghetto weiss in mass with the mission of each selecting a random ice cream topping to share, and then we prayed and i cried as it was one of the most searingly painful experiences my heart has endured... my roots were torn from the ground...it is incredibly and beautifully fitting that today i planted a blueberry bush in hopes of the fruit to come... i believe this is a God orchestrated moment to remind me of His love and His timing... i am a bit awestruck and deeply grateful
I love blueberries, too, and West Michigan is one of the best places in the world for them to grow. Here's to the flourishing of all the planted bushes, and to deep roots fed by living water.
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