AFTER THE LAST RATHER NEGATIVE BLOG about snow and the fact that Thanksgiving is upon us, I thought perhaps the following was in order: Scottish minister Alexander Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought to himself, "Certainly the preacher won't think of anything for which to thank the Lord on a wretched day like this." Much to his surprise, however, Whyte began by praying, "We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this."

In Africa, there is a fruit called the Richardella-dulcisica, better known as the “taste-berry.” When eaten, it causes the taste buds to experience all food eaten afterwards -- even distasteful food -- as sweet and delicious.

Gratitude is the “taste berry of Christianity, and when our hearts are filled with it, nothing that God allows to come our way seems unpleasant to us.
The sorrowing heart can be sweetened by gratitude. Burdened souls can be lightened by singing God’s praises. Discouraged ones can be lifted by counting their blessings.

There are people who, through their love and compassion, make the lives of those with whom they come in contact better. Like the taste-berry, these people can turn a sour day into a joyful adventure.

In Taste-Berry Tales, Bettie B. Youngs inspires readers with 25 poignant short stories of real-life people who make a difference in the lives of others. These individuals, by their example, show us how to use the events of daily life to improve the world we live in and the lives of others with whom we share it. When we help others by sharing the sweetness of life's joys and easing the bitterness of its losses, we become, in the best sense of the words, "our brothers' keepers." Youngs plays this role for readers, showing them a world that is full of hope. Everyone who reads this book will discover that their dreams are not only possible, but also more glorious than they ever realized.

The story is told of a man who found the barn where Satan stores the seeds he sows in the human heart: envy, greed, anger, hatred, lust, and so on. The man soon noticed that Satan had more seeds of discouragement than of any other kind. He learned that those seeds could be made to grow almost anywhere. When Satan was questioned, he reluctantly admitted that there was one place in which he could not get them to grow. "And where is that?" asked the man. Satan replied sadly, "In the heart of a thankful man." Something tells me that this thankful man subsisted on a diet of “taste berry’s.”