Thriving Squash

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

Galatians 5:22-23 

Yesterday as I wound my way through thriving winter squash vines, gazed at my leafy pepper plants (ok, so there’s no peppers, but at least the plants look good!), ate a few juicy cherry tomatoes, and picked the last of the green beans, I marveled at the garden abundance. A few months ago as the slugs and frost destroyed all of the plants I had so carefully cultivated, I threatened to give up. However, stubborn as I am, I decided to re-sow everything. 

Unfortunately, I had used all of the butternut squash seeds in the first planting. So in my second planting I had to resort to a few seeds that were left from a winter squash variety pack I had from last year. I planted them and for over a month I have watched as these plants sprouted, spread into leafy vines and budded flowers. It wasn’t until this week that I finally figured out what types of squash I will be harvesting! It took a summer of weeding, watering and waiting, but I knew I would be rewarded because every time I checked, these plants had taken the next step toward producing. 

A few weeks ago I was hiking in Montrose and thought of Galatians 5:22. Many of us can recite it, and as I walked I did so. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” I literally stopped in my tracks, stunned. I am a Christian; I know that Jesus gives Christians the gift of the Holy Spirit. And, just as a squash plant bears squash, so the Spirit bears specific fruit in the Christian. However, this fruit doesn’t instantly appear. Just like the squash plant, this fruit develops and grows over time. My shock came as I questioned whether those attributes were growing in me. Can I honestly say that I am more loving, more joyful, more full of peace, more patient, more kind, more good, more faithful, more gentle and more self-controlled than this time last year? What about than 5 years ago? If this is the Spirit’s fruit, then it is not a one-time-you-get-it-all event. No, every year, every day, we should be growing in these areas. Am I? Are you? 

Take a moment to stop and think about each of these and assess whether you see the fruit of the Spirit growing in your life.

          Love

          Joy

          Peace

          Patience

          Kindness

          Goodness

          Faithfulness

          Gentleness

          Self-control 

That’s quite a list, and I can guarantee that none of us are growing in all of these areas. Which ones do you need to pray about? The Spirit gives us this fruit, but we must be willing to weed out all of the actions, friends, and attitudes that we have that would hinder their growth. We also must nourish the fruit by watering it with biblical truth, a dedicated attitude and dependence on God. When we are humble before God, truly asking the Spirit to grow this fruit in us, then I believe that we will, week by week, year by year, see results. We expect a squash to come from a flower which grows on a vine which begins as a seed. Are we spiritually growing fruit or are we still a vine?