The View from the Huckleberry Patch

Dan with his picking this morning!

The air is clear with the smell of fir, pine and damp earth as Dan and I make our way up the old logging road to the bottom of the mountain where we hope we will find huckleberry heaven, ie, lots of huckleberries. These are little purple berries that explode with flavor in your mouth.

As I walk up the path, I enjoy the daisies that grow in profusion along the trail, the dense underbrush where little animals scurry around, and the cry of the eagle that soars overhead. We catch sight of a deer peering down at us through the foliage, and I wonder where that old bear is who has played with our lunch on previous occasions. I’m willing to leave one or two berries for him to keep him happy, but Dan leaves lots. Dan says he will attack me first, as I’m not as generous as he is.

“Is your bottom covered?”

We call back and forth incessantly while we pick. The above question is called at the beginning, questioning if the other person has the bottom of their pail covered with berries. When we took our daughter and her family picking with us one year, her ten-year-old son called up the mountainside, “Grandma, is your bottom full?” After I finished laughing, I corrected his word choice. As we find our first bushes with berries and stop to pick them, I think about all the years I’ve picked done this and what I’ve learned in the huckleberry patch.

In Glacier National Park a few years ago. A place where huckleberries grow!

1) Take the less trodden paths and work hard. There isn’t anything fun about picking huckleberries unless you like a sore back, a scratched face and a sweaty body. But like everything else in life, you have to work hard to get the end result, which in this case, is a huckleberry pie and stacks of frozen berries in the freezer. By taking the less traveled path, you will be most likely to find the berries no one else has spotted — those big, fat black ones under the little fir trees. In life, you have to try new things. Stretch yourself and take a big step of faith. It will pay off.

2) Search and you will find (most of the time!). There is nothing more satisfying than finding a big luscious patch of berries after searching for them for a long time. I sit down (the sign of a good patch) to fill my bucket. God’s Word says, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matt. 7:7) How persistent are you in your prayer life? Do you give up with a wimpy sigh after a few prayers? Or do you wait patiently and keep asking?

3) There are two (or more!) ways to do anything. Work together to accomplish the task. Dan and I employ two methods of picking huckleberries. 1) The “hunker down and pick them all” method (mine). When I find a good bush, I apply myself to it wholeheartedly and pick every single berry (almost, I leave one or two for Mr. Bear). 2) The “scout around and skim the top” method (Dan’s). Dan finds a good patch, but is not content to pick all the berries there. He installs me in it, then scouts for another one, or scouts to see where the current patch ends.

Without fail, before I finish, I hear his call. “Hey! Come on over here! They are SO GOOD!” When I protest that I haven’t finished in my current spot, he says, “No, you have to come! These are the best berries I’ve ever seen.” And, of course, I go. We work together to get the job done and the amazing thing is that we usually pick about the same amount of berries. Don’t fight with others on methods. If they have a proven track record, listen to what they say and get on board with them. By working together we can get the kingdom of Jesus Christ built.

4) The reward far outweighs the trouble. I know it’s hard to believe when sweat is pouring down your face, you just spilled your berries, or a bee has stung you, but it is true. When you arrive home and put up those berries (or better still, make a pie of them!), all the trouble, work, stubbed toes and scratched legs in the world seem as nothing. When we walk through heaven’s gates and see our Lord and hear His words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant … enter into the joy of your master”, it will be worth it all.

So keep on trudging up that steep hill, my friend. The way may be hard, but the journey is worth it when you keep your eyes on the Lord and find Him walking beside you each step of the way. Like God’s grace, mercy and love, these gifts from Him are free for the taking to those who will humble themselves, hunker down on their knees and receive His blessings.

Huckleberry patch, here I come!