A Very Berry Teaching by My Little Reagan

Princess Reagan seeks & finds some nice strawberries!

Today we braved the 90 degree heat to go pick strawberries.  This is something that we have never all done as a family.  Reagan and I went on our own into an uncharted section of berry world while the rest of the family stayed pretty close to the front.  Reagan and I were looking to find the best berries that we could find.

Unfortunately, Miss Reagan tripped and fell at one point sending her berry selection careening into the poop-laden dirt.  After recovering from her stumble, Reagan continued the search for new fresh berries.

As we were walking along, Reagan, ever mindful of what God might be teaching her in her everyday life, decided to tell me what God had to say about the strawberry picking.

She told me that Satan was trying to trick us into picking the gross squishy berries but that God wanted us to look and find the real nice fresh ones.  She told me that we're not listening to Satan.  We're not picking his gross squishy berries.  We're picking the good fresh red ones that God is telling us to pick.

I chuckled and thought about what a funny little story this was.

Then I began to think about the meat to Reagan's berry ramblings.  Little Reagan seemed to stumble upon quite a truth.

We talk all the time about making the wise choice and trusting God no matter what in our kid's church program.  And apparently it's sinking in!

Reagan understood that the more easy to find gross squishy berries are being put in our path to entice us by Satan.  Picking these berries is the easy thing to do.  They are right out there in the open and they require no real effort.  Most of them aren't even attached to the plant anymore and you certainly don't have to look for them.

She also understood that to find the good ones, we had to do a little more effort.  We had to search just a little bit harder.  And God's desire was for us to search for the fresh berries.  His desire was for us to have the very best, even if it might take us a bit more time and cost a bit more effort.

Little Reagan has more understanding than a lot of folks who go to Bible College.  Consider just this smattering of biblical references on the importance of seeking the Lord and His Will/Counsel for our lives:

1 Chronicles 16:11
"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always."

2 Chronicles 7:14 
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Deuteronomy 4:29  
"But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Matthew 6:33
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Our seeking for His kingdom should be FIRST.  Our seeking should be with "all of our heart and with all of our soul" and it requires humility and repentance.  Seeking isn't easy, but it's so central to living the life that God has for us.  It is impossible to please God without first knowing Him intimately.  It is impossible to know Him intimately if we accept the squishy berries and don't earnestly seek the fresh vine-ripened fruit that only God provides.

What a nice lesson from a 5 year old little girl and a day in the berry patch!