Dewberry Proverbs

One of the things that my mother passed on to me was a love of dewberry jelly.  She was good at making it, I was good at eating it.  Now for those of you who are not wise to the ways of dewberries - a dewberry is a wild berry, smaller than but similar to a blackberry, that grows on a thorny vine along the fence lines and out of the way places of south Texas.  They are rare, fleeting, difficult to pick but wonderful when prepared right; much like the best things in life. 

We are right at the end of dewberry season.  Judith and I were able to make one brief trip to pick berries after our return from Israel.  While picking berries I thought about our Proverbs Project and some dewberry wisdom began to take shape in proverbs form.  Here are a few proverbs (along with commentary)...

One person can pick a dewberry vine and find berries;
   another person can come along behind them and find what they missed.
(No one sees it all, we all see a part of reality and we miss other parts that perhaps others will see.  We need others to see everything).

Sweet and rare things often grow among thorns.
(When you look back on life, don't you see some valuable lessons learned from some pretty prickly places you had to go through)?

A man's pasture may have many berries,
 but a sluggard says they are too much trouble to pick.
(The best things in life are not easy.  That is why they are the best things).

To pick dewberries you must stoop down; dewberries do not grow in "safe" places.
(To get things done with integrity you must be humble and be willing to stoop low in some places.  You also must be aware there are snakes out there too.  That is the way life is in this fallen world).

You can take dew berries from the vine, but the vine will leave its marks.
(No one can pick dewberries without getting scratched a little. Any thing in life worth doing will also leave a few scratches on you too but in the end it is worth it).

If a man finds a wife who picks dewberries and knows how to make them into jelly, he should brag on her at the city gates...or in his blog.
(My wife made four jars of jelly and we still have enough for a pie.  I am a blessed man).

Happy Mother's Day weekend.

For the journey...

Tim