Fruits

Galations 5:22-23 ~~But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.





During this past week, this verse has been brought to my mind several times as we have been picking "fruit" from our garden. We have been picking zuccini, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, eggplant, and onions. Each time we have picked fruit, this verse has come up and made me think of ways to apply it to everything I do.





Some of the fruits of the spirit we have practiced lately is patience, self-control, and faithfulness. To pick "fruit" from the garden, one has to be patient enough to wait for it to get ripe and faithful enough to keep the garden weeded, watered, and looking healthy. It takes time to raise home-grown "fruits," but it is so worth it. We have also had to practice self-control. If we eat all the tomatoes in one setting, then there is none left for the next day. Also, we have had to have self-control so we can share them with others. We have given 3 precious tomatoes away.





Our daughter is learning all about kindness and gentleness. This past weekend, we went camping at grandma and grandpa's house. They have four kittens that run around and catch their mice. Well, Blessing will point at the kittens and walk towards them trying to catch them. Once she gets to them, she will grab them by their ears to pick them up or hit them. As parents, it is our job to instill kindness and gentleness. We show our daughter how to treat the kittens and be gentle and kind. We show her her to pet the kittens to make their motors run and how to feed them, showing them kindness. It is a tough lesson for an almost one year old to learn, but one that we are trying to teach.





Another fruit of the spirit is joy. Joy is something that I have been struggling with over the past year. It has been hard for me to be joyful with everything going on with my husband's recovery, job loss, and job search. However, I tend to feel joyful at least a little bit each and every day. This comes through my daughter. She reminds me how to laugh at the little things, how to enjoy the goofiness of my husband, and how to appreciate all that I do have. Lately she has been running between Mr. Tall and I (playing her own game). She will give us giant hugs one time and then get almost to us and turn around and run toward the other. It just makes me smile and laugh. That is one time that I truly do feel joyful. One of these days, I will be joyful at all times, without my daughter reminding me.

Love. What can I say about love except to show it at all times to everybody. I have had a few experiences lately where I have been able to show love, not only to my family, but to strangers. One stranger in Wal-Mart helped me to carry a very heavy battery out to my car. After he had put it in my car, I talked a few minutes with him and just showed him love and gratitude. I show love to my family every day. I work at cleaning the house, make dinner/lunch/breakfast, do laundry, and spend time with them. On the 4th of July, we went to town to watch fireworks. We sat about 300 yards away from where they lit them off, a little close for an almost 1 year old. Anyway, she watched them without moving. However, she was scared and just needed my love. So, I held her tight and comforted her through tight squeezes. I know that she sure appreciated it.





Goodness and faithfulness. These are two that are hard to explain. I remain faithful to my husband, daughter, and God. I try to remain faithful to my routines and to my friends. It is hard to explain goodness - except that God is good. He has been providing for us. A good friend of mine came through at the last minute (after disappearing for a month) and provided just what I needed to make my pampered chef goal for June. He provided just tonight with another possible July show, after two had cancelled. I need two shows to meet my goal for July.





Overall, I am working on the fruits of the spirit. It is amazing how every day things can bring me to a place of awe. It has been amazing how the silent time has been working (see previous post on solitude). Just turning off the television or the radio has made a huge difference for me - it has allowed me to appreciate God's goodness in all parts of life!

Well, enough for now. God is so good!