Between the Blackberry Bushes

I just got back from a super great bike ride with a friend, and a fancy little analogy is just begging to be shared! haha I'll try and keep it short....

As we cautiously moved between the thorns, I got increasingly annoyed about how frequently I was getting poked! Now that I'm back, parts of my hands are red and itchy, which is even more frustrating.  But I keep reminding myself- Blackberries are WEEDS! They're nasty non-native plants covered with pokey needles and thorns just waiting to latch on to exposed flesh, feathers, or whatever else they hook on to. Still, they taste so yummy. Good things can come from rough situations (do I sound like a broken record? haha so sorry).

I guess life can be like blackberry bushes (come on, you knew it was coming). Frustrations, trials, sticky situations... yet sweetness hiding under an unturned leaf.

In one of today's meetings, we were reminded to keep things in perspective. A positive attitude and mental toughness can help you overcome painful experiences. Combine those with a supportive community and a strong spiritual core, and you're good to go (please note that I didn't come up with those 4 points- they were taken from intensive US Army research on how to recover after traumatic experiences).  If I'm honest, though, I know I need help keeping things in perspective. It takes frequent re-evaluation and often a second opinion for me to truly see things accurately. So when you have help picking out the berries between the thorny bushes, you'll likely end up with a pretty sweet handful of joy.