“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, NIV).

My wife, Mandi, has a green thumb. A big green thumb, if I am honest. And it will not be denied! She often talks about the garden as being her “happy place.” For Mother’s Day this year, she asked for a pair of climbing rose bushes. I went with her to her favorite greenhouse to pick them out. She chose a pair of rose bushes that would have fragrant yellow roses. As we were getting them, the gardener explained what she would need in addition to the plants to ensure that they would grow and thrive. One of the non-negotiables was a certain amount of manure. (Who knew?) Another thing was to make sure that any leaves that fell off were picked up. Honestly, I don’t remember why. There were other directions too, all of which Mandi remembered and both happily and fastidiously followed.

Now, I know what you are thinking. “What is the point?” The point is that roses do not just grow because you have a rose bush or just because you want them to. They need a certain environment. They need certain nutrients. They take intentional care to grow. The same is true with the fruits of the Spirit in our lives.

I don’t know about you, but I have been learning that “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” do not just bloom in my life just because I am a Christian. While it is true that “against such things there is no law,” it is also true that if I am not intentionally working alongside the Spirit and following the instructions of The Gardener to cultivate the environment in my mind and heart in which those fruits can grow and mature, I cannot expect much success in producing them. I need to be about removing and weeding out the habits, attitudes, and thoughts that run counter to love if I want to be more loving. I need to understand that just like roses need some good manure to grow those sweet-smelling roses, the fragrant fruits of the Spirit often require their own special brand of manure to grow. After all, you cannot show forbearance (aka patience) unless there is something to forbear. Kindness and gentleness are at their most colorful when it would be easier to be angry. Faithfulness is brightest when the temptation not to be is right there beside it. That is probably why every time I pray for patience, what I get are problems!

Where is God working in you right now? What fruit or fruits do you see God working at in you today? Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty with Him. He knows what He is doing. Listen to Him, and join Him in what He is doing. You’ll be glad you did.

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, NIV).

My wife Mandi has a green thumb. A big green thumb if I am honest. And it will not be denied. She often talks about the garden as being her “happy place.” For mother’s Day this year, what she asked for was a pair of climbing rose bushes. I went with her to her favorite green house to pick them out.  She picked a pair of rose bushes that would have fragrant yellow roses. As we were getting them, the gardener explained what she would need in addition to the plants in order to ensure that they would grow and thrive. One of the non-negotiables was a certain amount of manure. (Who knew?) An other thing, was to make sure that any leaves that fell off, were picked up. Honestly, I don’t remember why. There were other directions too. All of which, Mandi remembered and happily and fastidiously followed.

Now, I know what you are thinking. “What is the point?” The point is that roses do not just grow because you have a rose bush or just because you want them to. They need a certain environment. They need certain nutrients. They take intentional care to grow. The same is true with the fruits of the spirit in our life.

I don’t know about you, but I have been learning that “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” do not just bloom in my life just because I am a Christian. While it is true that “Against such things there is no law,” it is also true that if I am not intentionally working alongside the Spirit, and following the instructions of The Gardener to cultivate the environment in my mind and heart in which those fruits can grow and mature, I cannot expect much success in producing them. I need to be about removing and weeding out the habits, attitudes, and thoughts that run counter to love if I want to be more loving. I need to understand that just like roses need some good manure to grow those sweet smelling roses, the fragrant fruits of the spirit often require their own special brand of manure to grow. After all, you cannot show forbearance (aka patience) unless there is something to forbear. Kindness and gentleness are at their most colorful when it would be easier to be angry. Faithfulness is brightest when the temptation not to be is right there beside it. That is probably why every time I pray for patience, what I get are problems!

Where is God working in you right now? What fruit or fruits do you see God working at in you today? Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty with Him. He knows what He is doing. Listen to Him, and join Him in what He is doing. You’ll be glad you did.

Lessons from Mandi’s Garden

“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, NIV).

My wife, Mandi, has a green thumb. A big green thumb, if I am honest. And it will not be denied! She often talks about the garden as being her “happy place.” For Mother’s Day this year, she asked for a pair of climbing rose bushes. I went with her to her favorite greenhouse to pick them out. She chose a pair of rose bushes that would have fragrant yellow roses. As we were getting them, the gardener explained what she would need in addition to the plants to ensure that they would grow and thrive. One of the non-negotiables was a certain amount of manure. (Who knew?) Another thing was to make sure that any leaves that fell off were picked up. Honestly, I don’t remember why. There were other directions too, all of which Mandi remembered and both happily and fastidiously followed.

Now, I know what you are thinking. “What is the point?” The point is that roses do not just grow because you have a rose bush or just because you want them to. They need a certain environment. They need certain nutrients. They take intentional care to grow. The same is true with the fruits of the Spirit in our lives.

I don’t know about you, but I have been learning that “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” do not just bloom in my life just because I am a Christian. While it is true that “against such things there is no law,” it is also true that if I am not intentionally working alongside the Spirit and following the instructions of The Gardener to cultivate the environment in my mind and heart in which those fruits can grow and mature, I cannot expect much success in producing them. I need to be about removing and weeding out the habits, attitudes, and thoughts that run counter to love if I want to be more loving. I need to understand that just like roses need some good manure to grow those sweet-smelling roses, the fragrant fruits of the Spirit often require their own special brand of manure to grow. After all, you cannot show forbearance (aka patience) unless there is something to forbear. Kindness and gentleness are at their most colorful when it would be easier to be angry. Faithfulness is brightest when the temptation not to be is right there beside it. That is probably why every time I pray for patience, what I get are problems!

Where is God working in you right now? What fruit or fruits do you see God working at in you today? Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty with Him. He knows what He is doing. Listen to Him, and join Him in what He is doing. You’ll be glad you did.

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, NIV).

My wife Mandi has a green thumb. A big green thumb if I am honest. And it will not be denied. She often talks about the garden as being her “happy place.” For mother’s Day this year, what she asked for was a pair of climbing rose bushes. I went with her to her favorite green house to pick them out.  She picked a pair of rose bushes that would have fragrant yellow roses. As we were getting them, the gardener explained what she would need in addition to the plants in order to ensure that they would grow and thrive. One of the non-negotiables was a certain amount of manure. (Who knew?) An other thing, was to make sure that any leaves that fell off, were picked up. Honestly, I don’t remember why. There were other directions too. All of which, Mandi remembered and happily and fastidiously followed.

Now, I know what you are thinking. “What is the point?” The point is that roses do not just grow because you have a rose bush or just because you want them to. They need a certain environment. They need certain nutrients. They take intentional care to grow. The same is true with the fruits of the spirit in our life.

I don’t know about you, but I have been learning that “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” do not just bloom in my life just because I am a Christian. While it is true that “Against such things there is no law,” it is also true that if I am not intentionally working alongside the Spirit, and following the instructions of The Gardener to cultivate the environment in my mind and heart in which those fruits can grow and mature, I cannot expect much success in producing them. I need to be about removing and weeding out the habits, attitudes, and thoughts that run counter to love if I want to be more loving. I need to understand that just like roses need some good manure to grow those sweet smelling roses, the fragrant fruits of the spirit often require their own special brand of manure to grow. After all, you cannot show forbearance (aka patience) unless there is something to forbear. Kindness and gentleness are at their most colorful when it would be easier to be angry. Faithfulness is brightest when the temptation not to be is right there beside it. That is probably why every time I pray for patience, what I get are problems!

Where is God working in you right now? What fruit or fruits do you see God working at in you today? Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty with Him. He knows what He is doing. Listen to Him, and join Him in what He is doing. You’ll be glad you did.