Mulberry Days – Romans 11:29

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

I was always fascinated by a rather short-lived BBC series from the 1990’s.  It was called simply “Mulberry.”   Mulberry is the son of Death and Springtime.  He is appointed to escort a particular cantankerous old woman into the next world.  However, he can’t quite bring himself to do the job.  He convinces his father to give the woman a few extra months.  During that time, Mulberry helps her to live out the end of her life with gusto, a bit more happiness and forgiveness, less bitterness, and a chance to redo her relationships.

It was the theme song of “Mulberry” that might have touched me the most with strong images, sadness, and sweetness.  It says that these are “Mulberry Days.”  Whenever, I would see a mulberry tree, my thoughts of “Mulberry Days” would pop into my head.  Why?  Is there a deeper meaning at work here?

As I have reached a point deep into life’s journey, I believe I have the answer.  A particular strain of mulberry bears its fruit in the late summer and autumn.   This is much later than most berries.

Many of us have dreams deferred, hopes abated, talents wasted, and targets that have been missed.  For those who are like me, where aging has become a problem that we no longer can ignore, there still can be an expectancy that our mission in life will not go unfulfilled.

We may have chased after degrees, careers, houses, bank accounts, and estates.  We may have flittered away the hours and the years.  We may have outright missed the mark.  However, this one thing I know: the legacy that the Lord God Almighty had in store for us has not changed.

According to news articles of the time and legend, the band on the Titanic played “Nearer My God to Thee,” as the great ship slipped beneath the icy waters of the Atlantic.  I doubt if there are many that remember what those band members accomplished during their lifetime.  Yet, with their very last act, they attempted to give solace to the dying and hope to the remaining survivors.  In the process they made their mark in history and etched their place in immortality.

Some of us may well be in our Mulberry Days, but God has not changed His mind on what He wants us to do.

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