In his book Unscripted, sports commentator Ernie Johnson Jr. talks about something that he calls “blackberry moments”. He tells about playing in a baseball game when he was about eight years old. A player on the opposing team hit a ball that bounced over the fence. The left fielder and center fielder both went to retrieve the ball, but they were gone a long time. When others went to help them find the ball, they found the ball laying in plain sight, but the outfielders had discovered a mother lode of delicious, ripe blackberries, and they were feasting on their newfound treasure. Returning to the ball game was the farthest thing from their minds!

Johnson writes: “That’s what unscripted blackberry moments do. I think God has placed blackberry brambles along the paths we walk every day. We just need the eyes to see them, the ears to hear them, and the hearts to detect them. All that stands in the way is the busyness of life. We’re all so focused on sticking to the script from one day to the next…that we blow right by the unscripted moments that can profoundly impact not just our lives but also the lives of those with whom we share the planet, the workplace, or a home. If there’s one thing life has taught me, it’s not to fear the unscripted but to embrace it.”

Be watching for your next blackberry moment!

“…Make the most of every opportunity.”—Colossians 4:5.