Wednesday, August 26, 2009

"But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law."
Galatians 5:22, 23

I have been thinking about these two verses a lot lately. When I was in labor, I focused especially on the self-control part. The presence of God's Spirit was so evident, and God gave me a lot of grace and glorious victory.

A few days after coming home, however, as I battled sleep deprivation and hormones, I crashed. I was not being full of self-control, patience, kindness, joy...

Interestingly enough, shortly after one of my "crashes" my mom gave me a much needed reminder of these verses even though she didn't know they were something I had clung to while in labor. I've been mulling them over ever since and have been so encouraged by them.

Through the work on God's Spirit, I can wholeheartedly love each person around me, even those who are difficult. I can have joy even when I feel more like sitting down and crying because I feel like I am woefully inadequate and the world in black and dreary. I can have peace and trust in God when I would naturally worry. I can be patient and kind even when Little Man dumps his spaghetti on the floor or when Benjamin rubs me the wrong way. I can be full of the goodness God gives. I can be faithful in my tasks even when I'm tired. I can be gentle and self-controlled even when I'm sleep deprived and would rather be crabby.

And really, when my focus is on God and His goodness and trustworthiness, it's not that hard. He is good. I am so thankful for His work in me!

2 comments:

Tammie said...

thank you for the good reminder.

SarahZ said...

"The Seed is in the Fruit".
People who you infuence will receive The Seed, because of The Fruit in your life.
No one seeks out the dry berries, but gladly devour the plump juicy ones.
Without the fruit of the Spirit evident and abundant in our lives, the seed we offer will be rejected.

I send this message to you, Christina, because I thought you would appreciate it, and be able to chew on it a bit! The Lord gave me that simple revelation one summer, during a very abundant and joyful blackberry harvest:) you don't have to post it! I just wanted to share:)