The crows perched in trees nearby caw in displeasure as I cup my hands under the clusters of blueberries and pluck the ripe ones. The birds and I compete for the berries on the bush in our yard. This year's crop is especially plentiful. Even though it's a wild bush, which normally sprouts tiny berries, this bush produces fruit almost as big as Concord grapes.

 The bush, located in the center of our lawn, gets lots of sun. It's separated from the usual wooded environment, free from briars and weeds. The abundance of rain in the northeast has been a boon to its production this year. 
 I think about the bush and how my family looks forward to the harvest every July. I thank God for the gift of fruit this lone bush has offered us for nearly 25 years. Instead of preparing breakfast, I'll just stand around the bush and eat. I often pray and sing while picking berries, using both hands to fill the small metal pail secured by a belt around my waist. 

 Containers of berries are stored in the freezer. We bake blueberry muffins, pancakes, cobblers and pies. Friends and family enjoy the bounty of this bush and remark about it. 

 During the hours spent picking, I can't help but think how we are like this bush, planted to grow and yield fruit. Jesus told his disciples, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). One abides in Him by keeping His commandments, which means adhering to the principles found in scripture.

 The Apostle Paul encouraged his followers in Galatians 5 to "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." He added, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

 How important it is to bear good fruit instead of indulging in works of the flesh, [or to modernize this expression, evil deeds OR sinful acts-I need help here, Don. What do you suggest? Leave it alone or pick one?] which are so prevalent in our society today: adultery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, murders, drunkenness, and the like. 

 Like the bush, in order to yield fruit, we need to isolate ourselves from the briars and weeds. When the seed of God's word is sown among thorns that we've allowed in our lives, as seen in Mark 4, "the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things" choke the word we've heard, and it becomes unfruitful.

 Just as the bush needs lots of sun and rain, we benefit similarly. I liken the sun to being in the Son, abiding in the presence of Jesus Christ through prayer and praise. The rain is like the continual pouring out of God's Word--or taking in the scriptures on a daily basis, as nourishment.

 It's my hope that I'm continually receptive to the seeds of God's Word that are sown in my heart. Cultivating ourselves, like the blueberry bush is not only a good idea, but it's rewarding as well. When we bear a fruitful bounty, others can be blessed by the sweetness we have to offer them.

 Jill Darling is a freelance writer whose columns and articles appear in a variety of newspapers, magazines and newsletters. She assists her husband Pete in pastoring Faith Christian Fellowship Church, Apalachin.