Sheltering in the Orchard

Sometimes we grow impatient in our lives when we don't see the spiritual growth we would like to see. Spiritual fruit...doesn't grow overnight. It takes time.If I were to plant a peach tree on Monday, I could scarcely expect to enjoy fresh peach cobbler on Friday.                                                                                      ~Greg Laurie

Emily was picking up some groceries in between classes. RB gave her his bank card and said, "Get Mom some fruit." Yes, I know I'm spoiled!  RB knows that if there's fresh fruit it's much easier for me to stay away from the sweets I shouldn't have.  The raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and Concord grapes made me feel loved!

Photo by Emily

Don't you sometimes wish we could buy the fruit of the Spirit?  Buy some self-control in a capsule?  Pick up a gallon of gentleness while you're buying milk? Order a side of peace at Applebees? 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22, 23)

For some of us who cut our teeth on this all-telling orchard-gold, we can find the succulent fruit losing its taste.  I can hardly wait for the first good peaches of the season.  But as the season wears on they start to taste mealy, and turn an odd shade of yellow-orange.  In our spiritual life we often find the same thing happening. 

Photo by Emily

We love, yet our love is conditional. Our joy diminishes as our time with God becomes stale and routine. We find our peace seeping away when we get our eyes on people instead of God. Our patience wears thin when other's ignorance stalls our plans. We find ourselves too hurried to be kind, too uncaring to show goodness, and too overwhelmed to be faithful.  We forget to be gentle--patting a small child's head, listening to the same story over and over by an elderly and lonely friend, speaking softly to an irritating person.  We overeat, speak too quickly and share gossip instead of exhibiting self-control. 

The fruit turns mealy, rotten spots form, and soon the lack of this spiritual fruit become obvious to not only God, but many times to others:

In our text messaging

In our facebook rants

In whispers behind another's back

In closet eating

In sloppily prepared teaching

In the dread in our hearts when it's time to meet with God

In the way we speak to our spouse and children

In our thoughts 

In the comparing of ourselves to others.
In the tenacious hold of positions 
In social class snobbery. 

When we're in the Word, listening to God's voice, walking in light and striving to be more like Jesus, our fruit grows in abundance.  I'm determined to keep my fruit tree trimmed by the fruit tree Master.  I'm praying for dead leaves and rotten fruit to be pruned. And in the pruning I want a renewed determination to be attentive to the fruit in my life. Growing always in each season. 

Help me, Lord, to look at others through your eyes.  To respond with love, gentleness, goodness and kindness to those I associate with day after day. To have patience with all people--not just the "lovely" ones. May the joy of the Lord flow through me and peace fill me.  May I be temperate in all I think, speak and do. And may the Holy Spirit check me when I'm careless. Amen.

Linked to:

Still Saturday

Spiritual Sunday

Soli Deo Gloria