Stress and Fruit

We were in the middle of one of those quirky family circumstances, where everyone is getting ready for the day and everyone is talking at once, on totally different subjects, and things are going a little haywire. I burst out laughing, and turned back to my closet. Then all of the sudden I found I was crying instead of laughing, and I wasn’t really sure why. I think it has to do with stress overload.

Family life is inherently stressful. So is ministry life. It just goes with the territory. There are too many people with too many needs, all demanding time and energy. But family life and ministry life are also both inherently rewarding, because God gives us these relationships as gifts, as places to experience the fruit of His Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Note that “fruit” is singular in Gal. 5:22. Those wonderful traits we get to experience in our relationships in the one body are aspects of the one fruit.

So, maybe the next time you feel like bawling, or pulling your hair out, before you yell at the kids and kick the cat, try praying to be shown, and to have the ability to show to others, the fruit of God's spirit in your life. Then let God surprise you in how that fruit shows up in your day!