Taste Berries

Psalm 107:8-9 -- "Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."

Hacking through the dense vegetation in a humidity so thick that a low mist hung in the air making fat drops of water cling to leaves, Chevalier des Marchais stopped to make notations in his weather-worn notebook. A French cartographer in 1725, he was determined to map the West Coast of Africa for his king. It was an exotic place upon whose ground few dared to tread due to lavish stories of cannibalistic natives and large wild animals. It was in fact, one of these dreaded remote villages of people that recently offered Marchais a much needed respite from his exhibition by offering him food and water. Thinking of the things the villagers had taught him, he reached into his bag for the fat red berries they had eaten with relish before every single meal. It was curious to him when he first noticed the pattern. Every villager old enough to eat solid food would munch on the berries through-out the day, in particular before eating a meal with the rest of their people.

Happenstance would lead to discovery.

Like all good explorers, Marchais carried lemons with him to word off scurvy. In a gesture of kindness when offered the tasty berries, Marchais gave the friendly man with the bright white teeth one of his lemons in trade. As the two men sat with their mouths full of sweet tangy fruit, Marchais cut open the lemon and gave a wedge to his new friend. Showing him how to eat it, Marchais discovered that the additional saliva produced in his mouth in anticipation of the sour citrus was for naught - the lemon was not sour. It took a moment for him to realize that the "taste berries" changed the way the lemon tasted. It was then that Marchais knew the reason for the berry fascination in this village. While indeed,"tasty", as the tribe had described them - the berries had an almost miraculous ability to actually change the way all other foods interacted with one's taste buds. Amazing. He was eager to share this discovery with the Royal Court upon his return to France.

Since its discovery back in 1725, the "taste berry" or "miracle fruit" has been used in countless countries and even more diets for it's unique properties. Kind of like rose-colored glasses for the tongue.

Like every other human on the planet, my life has often been riddled with the bitter taste of lemon/trouble that leaves the soul a little sore from the twang and sour. It wasn't until I read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp almost two years ago that I learned to be determined to grow a grateful heart. You see, we have been given life's unfailing "taste berries". A miracle that changes the way life's bitter interacts with the taste receptors in our spirit.

Paul tried to express this in his letters to the churches when he said that he knew the secret to success and went on to say that it was a grateful heart content in whatever circumstance upon which he was thrown. I was reminded of this today in Psalm 107:8-9. We do, indeed, have the opportunity to partake of a miracle life fruit - a thankful heart.

It is with a thankful and contented spirit that the bitter/sour taste of trouble and trauma can be swallowed with less offense to our taste buds. It will not change the fact that the bitter/sour exists. Nor will it change the fact that we encounter it from time to time - but it will most certainly change the way it abruptly accosts our palate.

As I have previously shared, when handed a lemon in my life now, I skip the lemonade and try my hand at a full-blown lemon meringue pie. Obviously there are still a few things I have to learn in order to perfect this interesting recipe - but each time my feet stumble on an obstacle in my life path, I try even harder to get it right. The most important thing I've learned in this journey - is that there REALLY IS so very much for which to be thankful. No matter the fruit we are given, God's love IS unfailing. He ALWAYS provides. And we are ALL forgiven.

No matter what.