Back in 2007 when I was diagnosed with cancer, I began writing a weekly column for our local paper. I kept that up for over a year and a half. Since the last time I sent in "Facing Trials and Finding Blessings" I have been storing up ideas in my head...much like I store up junk in my closet. Both are full!
I decided last week to make a go of a new avenue for my writing. That is where you join me today. This is my first BLOG. I really don't know how to BLOG at all and will be amazed if it saves and posts correctly! I have been cancer free for over 2 years now, my hair has grown back again and I am healthy. I am finished with that stage of my life, but I am not finished helping others see that in life we all will face trials, but in every trial... there is a blessing!
Back in high school and college I was big on writing New Year's Resolutions. I gave that up some time ago. I would probably start my list of this year with something like....more workouts, less late-night brown sugar and cinnamon pop-tarts, more quality time with my kids, less coffee, more dates with my hubby, etc...It could go on and on! Today my 10 year old daughter, Banner, gave me an inspiration of how I should begin my year with a resolution of her very own!
She sat down at our infamous kitchen table, that is often covered in white butcher paper to allow doodling, with her new 130 piece art set full of markers and asked me for a sheet of paper. She proceeded to write out the "Fruits of the Spirit" from the Bible. The other kids (I have four, ages 10, 8, 5, and 4) were fumbling through hot off the press "Chipmunks" coloring books, eating left-over pizza, and helping their Dad pack bags for the deer lease. However, my Banner was busy at work and on a mission all of her own! On her paper in a beautiful array of colors, she spelled out in bubble letters "Keys to Life" and then listed out the Fruits of the Spirit. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (My Banner knows self-control very well because we often pray that into her life when she too bossy with her younger siblings! I remind her of it, sometimes with her full name attached!!! You know the tone if you too have children or even a dog at home you are trying to train.)
In the midst of my post-holiday cleaning, grumbling over all of our junk laying around, and my dirt road floors, I was touched by her "Keys to Life" and reminded that I too should plan to mix these fruits into my life this year. They really sound too good to be true though. They sound more like a greeting card than anything that could ever be possible in my life filled with work, laundry, a sink ful of dirty dishes, and that feeling that I just never really have enough time for what matters. However, they are a reality because in Galatians, Paul writes after listing the various fruits that "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."
The Message Bible says "Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives." Being a former English teacher, I hang on the verb "WORK." It is work to put these fruits into our lives, but we can work on them because we are not alone in this walk! If we have a personal relationship with Jesus, we can work at reading His Word, praying and communicating with our Father. It starts with each and every morning that we wake up and is different for us all. It may be a cup of coffee and a devotional, a walk, or even a song we listen to on the way to work. If we want to work these qualities into our lives this year, it begins with taking God's hand each morning and saying to Him that you are not sure what challenges you may face during the next 24 hours or blessings you may find, but you know He is with you every step of the way. If your hand is in His, you will find that the Fruits of the Spirit go with you too! Your attitude will be different, your words will be more gentle, and we even may find that the concept of love CAN AND WILL compete with the concept of busy.
Happy New Year and for me...this has been happy blogging! Now...off to the Pop-Tarts and a glass of cold milk!
Betsy
