I sat in the restaurant last night and watched people stare down the waitress because they were tired of waiting for their food. I listened as the customers complained, grumbled, and griped at the restaurant personnel, and I found myself wanting to stand up and shout at each of them, "It's the season to be JOLLY, people!" Instead, I just looked at those grouchy people with the sternest "teacher look" I could muster, and I discussed their behavior with my husband who said, "I certainly hope I don't turn into a grouchy old man when I get old." (Go ahead, call us judgmental; we can handle it.)
On the way home, I kept thinking about how those people had behaved and wondered why it bothered me so much. I mean, let me be painfully honest here, I can be just as impatient as anyone else. So it is a bit hypocritical, yes, even judgmental of me, when I see impatience in others, and I find it to be so stinking ugly. Revelation time -- thanks, Holy Spirit -- so that's what I look like when I don't walk in the fruit of the spirit. Ugly. Terribly, disgustingly, horribly ugly.
When I sat down to journal today, I thought I would be journaling about the Story since that's obviously what God has laid on my heart this week, so I asked Him what on earth does the fruit of the spirit have to do with the Story. I'm not sure I got a clear, definitive answer, but I do know this: everywhere I look this season, I see the words peace, joy, and love. We sing songs and quote phrases like Joy to the World and Peace on Earth. We call it the happiest (or jolliest) time of the year. Could it be that maybe, just maybe, the fruit of the spirit is all about the Story and maybe the Story is all about the fruit of the spirit too? After all, the essence of the Story is Love fulfilled which is when true Beauty re-entered the earth.
I think I get it. The Story isn't a spectator story, not apart from us, but a part of us. We carry the Story in us and with us. The Story isn't a season; it's eternal.
The Story is the glimpse of Beauty that others see when we walk in the fruit of the spirit. And when we don't walk in the fruit of the spirit, it isn't the Story that other people see, and it isn't Beauty either.
So, when I get impatient because the people in the Walmart line are asking the cashier a million and one questions about candy and gum, and I just want them to move so I can go home, I'm not sharing the Story. When I'm walking around the department store with a furrowed brow and blank stare, I'm not living the Story. When I'm fretting about what I'm going to buy for whom and what I'm going to buy it with, I'm not a part of the Story. And when I'm griping and grumbling because the decorations are still not up and those cards I had committed to mail this year are still just in the idea phase, I'm not captivated by the Story.
My prayer today is that I put away the ugly and let myself be captivated by the Story, and that through me, others will see a glimpse of true Beauty, so that I might share with them the Story, the Ultimate Love Story.
On the way home, I kept thinking about how those people had behaved and wondered why it bothered me so much. I mean, let me be painfully honest here, I can be just as impatient as anyone else. So it is a bit hypocritical, yes, even judgmental of me, when I see impatience in others, and I find it to be so stinking ugly. Revelation time -- thanks, Holy Spirit -- so that's what I look like when I don't walk in the fruit of the spirit. Ugly. Terribly, disgustingly, horribly ugly.
When I sat down to journal today, I thought I would be journaling about the Story since that's obviously what God has laid on my heart this week, so I asked Him what on earth does the fruit of the spirit have to do with the Story. I'm not sure I got a clear, definitive answer, but I do know this: everywhere I look this season, I see the words peace, joy, and love. We sing songs and quote phrases like Joy to the World and Peace on Earth. We call it the happiest (or jolliest) time of the year. Could it be that maybe, just maybe, the fruit of the spirit is all about the Story and maybe the Story is all about the fruit of the spirit too? After all, the essence of the Story is Love fulfilled which is when true Beauty re-entered the earth.
I think I get it. The Story isn't a spectator story, not apart from us, but a part of us. We carry the Story in us and with us. The Story isn't a season; it's eternal.
The Story is the glimpse of Beauty that others see when we walk in the fruit of the spirit. And when we don't walk in the fruit of the spirit, it isn't the Story that other people see, and it isn't Beauty either.
So, when I get impatient because the people in the Walmart line are asking the cashier a million and one questions about candy and gum, and I just want them to move so I can go home, I'm not sharing the Story. When I'm walking around the department store with a furrowed brow and blank stare, I'm not living the Story. When I'm fretting about what I'm going to buy for whom and what I'm going to buy it with, I'm not a part of the Story. And when I'm griping and grumbling because the decorations are still not up and those cards I had committed to mail this year are still just in the idea phase, I'm not captivated by the Story.
My prayer today is that I put away the ugly and let myself be captivated by the Story, and that through me, others will see a glimpse of true Beauty, so that I might share with them the Story, the Ultimate Love Story.
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