Picking berries in the woods is a BIG part of the local culture. It’s something that they talk about year-round, but the season for berries is really quite short. When I first moved here 2 years ago, I listened to people talk about picking berries (and mushrooms) for a year, and I was looking forward to picking some myself. Finally, last August I was told that these local berries would be ripe in another 2ish weeks… Then, 3ish weeks later, I was told that it was already too late. I missed my chance.
This year, though, I was able to join my friend Hope, her sister, brother in law and aunt for a successful day of berry picking.
GETTING THERE
I walked to Hope’s apartment (about 10 minutes away from mine), arriving by 8:30. We sat in the kitchen talking for about 15 minutes until her sister called and said that they had arrived. We then put on our jackets & shoes, grabbed our buckets & lunches, and headed out. Before leaving town, we stopped to pick up their aunt.
We drove for about 45 minutes before turning off the main road and onto a dirt road. Parts of it were really quite nice. Other parts, not so much. We bounced along for another 30-45 minutes before they decided that we had arrived at a good spot to start picking.
We got out, applied mosquito repellent, grabbed our buckets, and took off. They were experienced pickers. Me, not so much. I’d eaten these berries before, so I knew what color they should be, but I’d never before picked more than a few almost ripe ones.
PICKING BERRIES
Because it would be easy to get lost – and because there might be bears in the woods – they called out to each other every so often. We weren’t always close enough to talk, but we were close enough to each other to keep each other safe. They were also helpful to me – the newbie foreigner – pointing me in the right direction for riper and bigger berries.
After about an hour and a half, my little 2ish liter bucket was full, my back hurt from bending over, and – although I had eaten a LOT of berries – I was hungry for lunch. Thankfully, the others were also ready for a lunch break.
We sat around sharing the foods that we brought while talking and laughing and enjoying each other’s company.
Eventually, it was time to pick more berries. I again was able to fill my little bucket, again got a sore back, and again just really enjoyed the day.
We were pretty much the only ones in “our” part of the woods. It was so quiet. So peaceful. I just picked and picked and thought and thought. What a wonderful place – in creation – to be able to talk to the Creator!
LESSONS LEARNED
So many thoughts were going through my mind that day as I picked nearly 5 liters of berries. For example, I’m amazed at how many similarities there are to picking this harvest and another important harvest. Here’s just a few…
- You can’t pick berries too early. (Same for people, their hearts have to be ready.)
- Nor can you wait too late. (Tomorrow isn’t promised.)
- You sometimes have to go far away to find them. (I’m on the other side of the world from where I grew up.)
- Those picking have to look out for each other and to help the newbie. (I’m not here alone, but I am the newest; my co-workers are a huge blessing and a great example.)
- Those picking won’t always be close together but will spread out to cover more ground. (My co-workers and I have a few mutual friends. However, we mostly have our own friends whom the Father has put into our lives and spheres of influence.)
- The berries are small – filling a bucket is a slow, tedious process. (Deep relationships don’t happen overnight. Neither does language learning. But it’s important to gain trust & confidence and to be able to clearly share the Truth.)
- It’s all worth it. It’s worth the travel, the pain, and the time spent. (It will be worth it all when we meet our Father face to face!!!)