The Gardiner

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

As I walk with the Lord, there is a Teacher, the Spirit of God himself that walks and talks with me. Today I will also call him the Gardner.

When a garden is planted, sometimes the fruit or vegetables grow well. But even the best plants, that which seems like they are growing well, often can use improvement, the Gardner can recognize this quickly.

So the Gardner often has to re-cultivate the ground, perhaps remove some rocks that were deep in the dirt that did not allow the fruit to mature to its proper growth. Often what looks like good soil unless it’s tested may reveal to be deficient of nutrients, therefore proper daily feeding to the ground is necessary to ensure that healthy fruit is produced. Just because it looks good, does not mean it will taste good.

Perhaps there is too much heat, perhaps the plant cannot handle that heat, so the Gardner uproots the plant and chooses a different location, a place of proper balance between heat and shade. The Gardner will frequently check the growth of his plants. If he sees that the plant is leaning or bending the wrong way, he may turn it around to try and re-position it...but if the plant is stubborn, for the good of the plant, for the benefit of pure fruit, he sometimes has to gently restrict it, making sure that plant stays and grows in the place the Gardner planted it.

When the season ends, the Gardner gathers the harvest, he examines it, puts it to the test as he serves it out. The Gardner quickly see whether those that are eating of the fruit he grew are enjoying the benefits of his toil. If the fruit is bitter, rotten, un-matured, or just did not grow as the Gardner intended, then he tweaks the process or perhaps he checks the seed to make sure that the seed will produce what he intended to grow.

Love should not produce hate, Joy should not produce discontentment, Peace should not turn out as chaos, Kindness should be sweet, Goodness, genuine, Faithfulness should be authentic, Gentleness should not turn out harsh, and Self- control should be temperate.

Therefore I submit myself to the Gardner and allow him to continue to examine, tweak, and if necessary start all over again until the fruit produced is what he intended to reap out of this life.

I have grown to recognize when the fruit is rotten, I can recognize if the fruit is not genuine..the fruit of my life. The Gardner as he cultivates the ground, he speaks to me. His Mighty Word, the food source to all that will grow well, is what I cling too. It’s not only at the beginning of a new year that self examination is necessary, but a daily check has to be part of my life. There is no one good…except the Lord. I am not perfect, but I am being changed daily until I reach glory one day. There are spiritual truths that I know well but that does not mean I don’t need to be reminded. His Word does that for me. There is not just one verse that I cling too for the New Year, because every word is beneficial and instructive to me. In 2010 the Lord continued to teach me to trust him daily and I did. In 2011 I will do the same because I do not know what it holds. I thank the Good Lord for saving my life and bringing and allowing me to join the family of God.

I do have a continue hope, that I hold on too, and that is that he would save my family….my entire family until my whole lineage proclaims Christ is Lord!

Happy New Year! 2011

God bless you!~Liz
www.lizrod.com