Being Fruitful

My oldest daughter can memorize scripture extremely fast.  I'm trying to keep up with her.  We say a verse we are memorizing to each other at least once a day.  If I make one tiny mistake or hesitate for a moment, she will not take more than a second to correct me. (i.e. "Mom, it's 'fruit', not 'fruits').  I love this about her.  She is keeping me on my toes.  We just finished a new verse (see below).  I think it's difficult to memorize because there is a list of nine items.  Each of these items characterizes a fruit of the spirit.  It is good, so very good, to know the Word of God.  Having it dwell in my heart is truly life changing and drastically shapes how I look at the world.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, 

peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 

faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23a

My daughter is very good at observation.  Now that she knows this verse, she recognizes it in her daily goings.

• "Mom, I shared my roll with sister, that was kind."
• "Mom, you gave me a hug, that was love."
• "Mom, you helped me, that was... uhmmm... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness... Mom, that was GOOD that you helped me!"
• Mom, they littered.  That was NOT kind to Earth."

Now I see it everywhere.  I especially see it in the way people have loved and prayed for us.  I wish I could share them all with you, but by God's grace, there are too many to list.  Here's a little peek into believers living out Galatians 5:22-23a in my life through prayer.

LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS

Erin is a lifelong friend.  We grew up together in East Texas.  We went to church and college together.  We both became pediatric physical therapists.  She is my very thoughtful and thorough sounding board.

Julielle is my forever heart friend.  We were college roommates.  We dream big, out of control big dreams.  We have the same spiritual gifting and we both love queso!

During my radiation treatment last year, they flew to my house in Birmingham.  Each live in different states.  WHY did they come?  WHY did they fly all the way here to Birmingham?  They wanted to sit on my bed, hold my hands and pray together.

WHAT?!  That was it.  That was the total purpose of their visit.  They gave me a safe place to speak out my fears.  They held me and we cried together.  It seems ridiculous to buy a plane ticket to come and pray with a friend.  They loved me so much that there wasn't really a second thought about it.  I can't think about that weekend without tears coming to my eyes.

KINDNESS AND PEACE

During radiation, I started to lose some of my hair, which was hard.  Also the radiation itself was pretty hard in general.  I went and got a massage toward the end of treatment at a local spa.  I really wanted to relax.  After the massage, I sat in the hot tub with several women who were talking.  I was trying to be invisible, making sure the scarf on my head stayed where it was supposed to so people didn't notice that I was going bald.  I kept looking at the ceiling and trying not to cry.  Of course, my attempt to be invisible was unsuccessful.

The shorter version of the story is that before I left the spa that morning I had a number of women, including the janitor, praying over me.  They prayed for my cancer, my new baby and all of the things to come.  They put their hands on me, cried over me, and prayed hard.  The Spirit of The Almighty was all over that place.  I thought I needed a massage, but God knew I needed those prayers.  How kind were they to seek me out?  How sweet were they to gather others to pray together?  How tender were their ears to hear God's prompting?  I left that spa in peace that only comes from The Lord.

GOODNESS AND GENTLENESS

I have a friend who means the world to me.  I look up to her so much.  Her mother is suffering from a degenerative disease.  Her muscles are going away.  Her speech is difficult.  But, her heart is good and full of care.

In her church, there's a designated time to pray for those who are suffering.  In her very broken voice, she softly prayed... "ash-ley".  What a precious moment.  I wish I had been there to share that moment with her.

PATIENCE AND JOY

I have an amazing friend named Karly.  We are in the same small group at church so we get to do life together daily.  She is an incredible mom raising two boys about the same ages as my girls (wedding talks have begun!).  Karly loves and teaches her boys about Christ so well.  I got this text from her one night:

"Tonight I was praying with my oldest and I asked him who he wanted to pray for.  He said 'Ashley'.  I asked him what he wanted God to do for Ashley and he said, 'I want God to make her head feel better.'  Then he looked at me and said, 'but God's already healed Ashley, but it takes a long time.'"

Oh what a precious heart.

I hope this is an encouraging post.  These little snapshots of life-giving prayers only show a glimpse of how rich and fruitful a relationship with Christ can be.  I hope this is encouraging to you.  I hope you take opportunities to pray for others around you.  God is so gracious and He is giving opportunities all around for community.  I pray you'll find one and grow closer to Him because of it.

We are headed to the beach!  We will relax (hopefully), wear loads of sunscreen and hopefully catch a sand crab or two!  This opportunity to go to the beach with my family, to have enough endurance to play in the pool, to watch the waves go over the ocean... it's all a gift from God!  I'm ready for the busy, fun, memory making trip!

I hope the start of this summer season brings opportunities for growth in community and deeper roots with the Father.