Good Fruit

Life's been pretty good lately. My excellent husband made a little candle-light tea party on the deck for me last night (my favorite white tea with lime zest!). He took some time to encourage me, telling me the ways I'd grown over the past year or so. There were some pretty exciting ones, like trust in God is coming more to typify my life and inform my actions. Oh, and he said I was growing in mastering the gentle and quiet spirit talked about in 2 Timothy. There were some other things too. It was really nice to sit on the porch on a cool summer night, listening to the rainfall, the scent of our herbs stirred up by the rain, the steam of the tea spiraling around in the undillating candle light, being encouraged by the man I love most in the cosmos.

Then we went to sleep, and sleep always means you have to be rudely awakened by an alarm clock, that blasted Promethean Duck, the thing that squawks and squawks every morning until you slay it, only to squawk and squawk the next morning to be slain again. I dispise my Promethean Duck.

I awake every morning, a bit before 6 as Kari the Duck Slayer. I don't have the option of ignoring it because of my time sensitive thyroid meds. I get up, slay the duck, and stumbled into the bathroom to take my meds. Obligations fulfilled, the battle starts. Here's how it usually goes:

"I'd sure feel better if I just got 10 more minutes of sleep..."
"But I really need to go have my quiet time..."
"I won't be able to function today if I didn't get enough sleep..."
"If I don't have my quiet time now, I won't get it in today, I just know it..."

But here's what I thought this morning:

"Plucky's turning on the shower and jumping right in. I want the good fruit to continue."

Stephan confirmed alot of good fruit in my life last night. I've got a long way to go toward Christ-likeness, but growth is happening through grace. Does anyone else notice the drastic difference in their life when they're consistantly meeting with the Lord? There's nothing magical about having a quiet time. The change comes when we humbly express our constant need for God, his wisdom, his guidance, and his strength by studying his word and praying. He delivers these things when we're faithful to seek them from his hand. Is it any wonder that the longer and more diligently we dwell in his presence, the more we see good, godly fruit coming to bear in our life? If it's true we reap what we sow, then we shouldn't be surprised.

When I'm in a season where I look around and see nothing but rotten, pudrid fruit all around, then I was sowing to something rotten - sin. Just the opposite is true when I see good fruit - it's because, by grace, I've been sowing to godliness.

So when the duck began wailing this morning, I remembered the good fruit Stephan pointed out last night - in my marriage and in my own life - and wanted to continue sowing to that. I can't help but marvel at the grace that's been poured out on my life to get me to this point. Any change is only by grace. God is so kind - but I don't want to lose ground in sowing.

So God give the duck long life and health and every blessing.