A Bucket of Blessings

My husband’s family is from the mountains of West Virginia. I fell in love with the people, the natural beauty and the wild huckleberries (blueberries to us mid-westerners.) It was the perfect trio: picking blueberries with good company in the fresh mountain air.

Picking wild blueberries is work. The plants are low to the ground. The patches are spread out yonder. Sometimes the locals are protective of their turf and will scare you with warnings of snakes in their favorite patch. (Thank goodness I never saw a snake!) Picking blueberries requires patience as it takes forever to fill a bucket because wild blueberries are the miniature version of the store-bought kind.

Year after year, I would pick blueberries with my husband’s grandmother and her dear friend Barb. We would pick to our hearts’ content or until it was time for our family to leave West Virginia behind. I remember one year in particular. I shared my many plans for all the blueberries I was picking. Then I asked Barb what she was going to do with her berries. She replied that she was picking for a friend. I wasn’t surprised as Barb was always doing nice things for other people. Barb had many friends.

On the last day of our vacation as were getting ready to pack up and head home, Barb approached me. With her bounty of blueberries picked over the previous week, Barb handed me the container and shared, “These are for you, friend.”

I didn’t see it coming. We had toiled side by side for a week. While picking, I remember thinking that “this friend” must be special to receive such a generous gift. And come to find out, I was that friend! I had been satisfied with what I was able to pick, but Barb had something else in mind: a bucketful of blessings that I didn’t expect. I was floored by her expression of love.

I thank God for His blessings poured out on me in blueberries and in other ways. God blesses us with the help of others as we muddle through life together. God surprises us with blessings in the most difficult places. God brings people into our lives at just that right moment to remind us of His enduring love. God opens our eyes to see Him when all we can focus on is our circumstances. God intends extra blessings even when we are content with what we have.

God fills my bucket of blessings to overflowing.

 

John 1:16

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 

 

Psalm 23:5-6

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.