The Fruits of the Spirit

July 2, 2014

Do you know what the fruits of the spirit entail?

Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (For a better understand of each, click on the words).

I am a woman in process. I know I’ll never get each attribute of the Holy Spirit perfectly aligned and mastered. I know I am not perfect and I am blessed that I can be constantly growing. I love a lot, sometimes too much. It has taken me years to understand the joys of life. I am not always the best at long-suffering or kindness. Goodness! Ha! Sometimes I see more of the devil in me than should be allowed or even possible. My faithfulness often lacks sufficient endurance as well. I do feel I have a great deal of gentleness within me but man…my self-control. Whew! I know my self-control is problematic.

Fortunately I know God is patient and kind. You know what…that quote from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Just not, I was thinking, if ever anyone wanted to know what God looks like…take a look at that passage. Replace love with God and I believe you’ll have a good image of Him. Just my opinion.

The virtue I want to speak of today is of giving. I am, by talent and by education, a giving person. I feel most complete when I am in giving and serving mode.  Sometimes in all the hustle and bustle of life I can appear not so giving. That is when I need to look within myself and find that quiet and peaceful spirit that is gifted to me for God.

I WANT to have a quiet and peaceful spirit. all the time but it is hard.  This can be difficult for me because I can sometimes lack patience and understanding, especially with my family.

It can be difficult trying nonstop day in and day out to bite your tongue when all you want to do is do the exact opposite.

I also want to have a giving spirit. It is quite easy for me to be that way with strangers and coworkers. And yet again, when it comes to family sometimes all I want is to give to ME. I mean, after a long day at work, dealing with people for hours, sometimes you just want to go home and give to yourself. Relax, watch some television, take a nap, ect. But I have to remind myself my kids have missed me all day. They desire attention. They deserve it too. And even though all I want to do maybe is to grab some food and lay on the couch and watch my favorite episode of whatever, I should give my family my time and my attention.

There are ways to relax with the family. Play a game, read a book, watch something they want to watch instead of what I want to watch. Today I will remember to give of myself to those closest to me.

What aspects of your spirit do you need to come to terms with, devote more time and attention to? Today, I challenge myself, and all those who would take part in this…take a strong inventory of where you stand in regards to the Fruits of the Spirit. Give each one a number on a scale of 1 to 10. Then spend some quality time focusing on bettering yourself.

 

“The filling, and subsequent fruit, of the Spirit won’t change my life. It will change my day. It will change my mood.” Beth Moore