Mulberry Picking

The pock mark stains on the sidewalk proved I was walking under a mulberry tree. I love reaching up and picking the juicy berries and bringing a containerful home to enjoy. I am not alone in my pursuit of the free fruit. One day I met a lady, she wasn’t U, but she was from the country where I used to live. We quickly struck up conversation in her native language. She mentioned she had come to visit her daughter but then got stuck as the borders closed. She was trying to learn some English by going to a class at a church. As she spoke, I remembered one of my former co-workers at the baby food factory who was part of the same people group as this woman. Whenever I was out with him, he was not only very bold in sharing the good news; he was very direct about it. Taking a page from his book, I followed the Spirit’s prompting to move the conversation to deeper things. “Make sure you don’t just go to the church to learn language; they are there to teach you about Jesus. He is the most important thing for all of life. Have you been learning about Him?” I wished I had more spiritual vocabulary in her language, but kept asking that God would direct the conversation. “I haven’t been baptized yet,” she said tentatively. “Baptism is for those who truly believe in Jesus, that He is the only way. First you must understand this truth and let Him work in your heart. Next time you go to the church ask them more questions.” We have run into each other a few more time around the block and each time I am reminded to pray that He will use our simple conversations to bare a richer fruit in her heart.