Fruit

He is like a tree planted by streams of water;

which yeilds its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. 

Whatever he does prospers..

Psalm 1:3

Artwork - Barbara Noel

We said our final farewell to my friend and fellow artist Barbara Noel on Monday, as we celebrated her life at her 'Home Going Service' and I wrote a tribute to her in my post Friendship, it was a moving day, and a blessing to be part of it.  I thought about the impact she had made in many peoples lives and this reminded me of the fruit that we are called to produce in our own lives.

The fruit of the spirit is..love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control....

Galatians 5:22

What is it that you are labouring over, what fruit are you producing, what are you doing to impact those around us?....I have a plum tree in my garden and come August, I am expecting that we will get plums, not potatoes, oranges or tomatoes.  For every flower that appears.....

 - once fallen, a fruit should be in place.

Whatever we do there are certain results that are guaranteed, if we encourage our children and speak positive words into their lives we hope that they will grow up with confidence and secure in who they are..  Take stock and look at what you are currently doing in your life.  Can you clearly see what the fruit of your labour will be.  Does it need some extra nourishment, water, etc and are there any areas that need to be cut back in order to bring a bigger crop, this might take the shape of a course to learn a new art techniques or sharing your art techniques with a disadvantaged group, you could get up that extra half hour to be a blessing to someone, or get some exercise to avoid potential illnesses such as high blood pressure or diabetes.....  Would you spend time raising funds for a charity or a homeless shelter on Christmas day?  Make sure that the time you invest enables the results you are looking for to be achieved.....Is your fruit recognisable?

It has definitely been a challenge writing for the A-Z April Blogging challenge and  I am also doing the challenge on my other blog Amanda Trought Art, with a whole different set of words but I have been blessed as I steadily make my way through the alphabet.  I know you will be blessed as you make your way around to the blogs of the other participants on the challenge.