5x7 print, 8x10 white mat included, packaged in clear plastic protective sleeve.

“Nobody in the lane, and nothing, nothing but blackberries / Blackberries on either side, though on the right mainly.”  –Sylvia Plath

We inhabit a world of contradiction. A world of both extreme pain and extreme beauty, of both sin and grace. Living in such a reality demands humility because humility guards us from both the naïve optimism that tells us we can change the world ourselves and the faithless despair that abandons all hope of redemption.

Perhaps no other plant embodies this tension so well as wild blackberries (Rubus allegheniensis). Wild blackberries with their prickly canes and lush fruit embody God’s grace in the midst of our suffering. Even in the brokenness, there is life. Even in the brokenness, there is goodness. Even in the brokenness, there is hope.

—

This unframed 5×7 print of an original watercolor painting by Michelle Radford is professionally produced on heavy watercolor paper. It is matted to fit an 8×10 frame and comes sealed in a protective sleeve.