Choosing the Fruits of the Spirit

By Contributing Writer, Tina Entz

Yesterday I sat in the quiet of my living room, watching the soft snow fall to the ground.  As I sat in this moment I couldn’t help but think upon this past year…..another year, another Christmas behind us, with another brand new year ahead.   What will I do with these days gifted to me, however many they may be?  What my days hold involves many of the choices that I will make today.

I have realized, of course, that my calling in life is to be the help meet, mother and home keeper that the Lord calls me to be.  So this day I make my choices based upon Galatians 5:22~23.  I make these choices knowing they are only obtainable by the power and help of the Almighty Hand of God!

 I choose love…… I will take each day moment by moment, dedicating my life to the service of my family and others. I will depend on the Almighty to help me resist temptations to be bitter and self centered. I will love the Lord and what He has gifted me.

I choose joy….. I will refuse to allow the activities of my day to day life become mundane and lifeless. I will work daily to find new ways to bring joy to my family and my home. I will keep remembering that joy is of the Lord and it is His desire for my life, regardless of the circumstances I may be facing.

I choose peace…. I will not allow the evil one, who seeks to devour and destroy, to invade the peace of my home. When things become tense or when life becomes frustrating, I will fall to my knees and seek my God….the God of peace.

I choose patience…. I realize that Satan often uses irritation and frustrations to steal not only a mother’s joy, but the joy of all who abide in her home. When I feel these unwelcome guests beginning to take hold of me I will retreat to pray, if but only for a moment. I will choose patience with my husband, my children and the demands of my life; for I know my God is Sovereign and will give me just what I need.

I choose kindness…. I will seek new ways to extend my hand to those in need, to those who are hurting, to those who are alone. I will pray often for the Lord to give me what I need to show kindness when I am in need, when I am hurting and when I feel alone. I will work to show others the same kind of love and grace my Lord has shown to me.

I choose goodness….. I will seek daily the Lord so that I might find wisdom in HIS goodness. I will go without, so others can have. I will allow myself to be forgotten, so others might be noticed. I will try to always remember that goodness is in the giving and sacrificing self.

I choose faithfulness…. I will be the one that can be depended on. I will be loyal and keep my promises. I will be trusted and none will question this trust. My husband will trust in me and know He is safe with me. My children will know they are loved and that I will always be by their side.

I choose gentleness…. Things in life arise that try to rob this fruit in our lives. I have been tested again and again in this area. Today I choose to be gentle. I set aside myself and choose to demand nothing. I will turn my frustrations to prayer and my disappointments into grace.

I choose self control….. My flesh will fail me; it will die. My spirit will live on, so today I choose to reign my life under the power of the Holy Spirit. I choose to place my passions on the things above. I realize in many circumstances I am choosing self control when I choose all the other fruits above!

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control…..these are all worth choosing! 

If I succeed in each of these, I will give all glory and thanks to my Heavenly Father!  If I should find myself falling into bed at night, feeling defeated by my own failures, I will seek my Heavenly Father for His loving grace and forgiveness.  In so doing, I will know I have done my very best; and that should I be blessed to see His face this day…..I will know He knew my heart.

And that by His grace my heart chose Him.

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