A Weekend Of Focusing On The New

You can't tell by looking really, but this is the thickest, heartiest, most productive area of blackberry bushes that we have on the property. There are hundreds of bushes in this few square yards, and they give us the most consistent yield of any other area.

But right now, as autumn comes to an end, they're dormant. They've lost all their leftover berries, most of the leaves have turned brown and fallen off, and you wouldn't guess they're blackberry bushes unless you had seen them this summer. They're completely different from what they were just a few weeks ago.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

This passage of Scripture takes on a different meaning when you place it next to these dried-up bushes. They are losing everything that they once were - their leaves, their color, their sustenance - to prepare for the next growing season. The old things like their fruit and greenery have to wither away for a few months so they can grow back fuller and thicker than they have ever been.

So I could sit around until spring and lament the loss of our berry bushes, or I can rejoice over the apparent death in front of me and look forward to bigger, better blackberries next summer. That choice is up to me.

Make this a weekend of focusing on the new. You may be going through a season of pain and suffering right now, but like the dormant season, it will only last for a little while. It may hurt your heart and make you want to give up, but the season of renewal is on its way. The choice is yours as to whether or not you'll look forward to the coming good God has planned for you or linger over the dead stuff that He's trying to remove from your life.

Choose to focus on the new. There's a beautiful day on the horizon.

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