A tumble and tangle of vines creep round the conservatory
window ledge, sprouting from numerous pots. Most hold cantaloupe, and I am
delighted to see a few of these tiny, perfect melons forming. One pot holds
three cucumber plants.
We’ve enjoyed two cucumbers so far, but yesterday, as I took
a paintbrush to the flowers in case they needed help with pollination, I was
concluding that it was a disappointing harvest. Then, as I stood and stared, I
suddenly spied there, partially concealed by a geranium, a fully formed
cucumber.
What delight! I got Flick and Greg in to try to see it, and
they spotted it much quicker than I had.
The fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, patience, peace,
kindness, virtue, faith, gentleness and strength of spirit – grows like that, I
think. Our lives – at least mine – can be a tangled mess, and it can be
discouraging when a harsh word leaps from my lips or faith falters, but the
promise of God is that he is the gardener, working in each of us like a bespoke
designer, nurturing these fruits of the Spirit to feed an increasingly hungry
world.
One of the challenges of church should be to encourage one another
as we see those fruits growing. It can be hard to see growth in ourselves.
May I be quick to encourage and slow to be disappointed. And
despite the outward mess of life, may I trust in the divine gardener who knows
exactly what he is doing.
Unlike me.
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