Raspberries Are… The Holiday Miracle…

I would like to talk to you about a miracle.

The raspberry.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s make a clear definition:

Miracle: a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.

Miracle: a highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences.

Miracle: an amazing product or achievement, or an outstanding example of something.

I’m going to use the last two. I’m not saying that the fruit existing is a miracle so to speak but that you get to eat them, right now, is. If, for my holiday dessert I wanted raspberries and cream, which I totally do, I can go right now, or tomorrow, to the food store, and I can buy them. I can buy them any time of year. If you live in the north east of America, as I do, go outside for a moment. It is very cold. There are few leaves left on trees. Most noticeably there are no raspberries on bushes just waiting for me to eat them.

Raspberries you are eating come from somewhere right now. As you can see from the chart below, most of the year they come from somewhere very far away from you.

If you have seen a raspberry recently you will know they aren’t exactly robust. In fact, they are kind of squishy. That small pint of squishy raspberries which were shipped less than a few days ago form the coasts of California or Chile to your supermarket and then to be shelves and then bought and brought to your door, for me falls well inside of the “Highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences.” It is certainly an amazing achievement.

We are so quick in this world to be annoyed, while we stand among miracles that kings and queens of two hundred years ago would have given their kingdom to experience.

Explainable by natural laws? Yes. But a miracle nonetheless.