Ephesians 5:8-10 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.

I John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

I John 2:6 "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

These are not the first qualities that come to mind when I consider myself. And honestly, it's hard to see all of these qualities in people that I know. I have read multitudes of studies on these fruits, and exactly what they mean, but each of them affects us in different ways and all of them together may not be active in our lives while we are still on our way to perfection.

But, as we come into the Spirit, these are to be the fruits of our lives. I will never be perfect, never achieve all of these qualities as foundation stones for my life, but I continue to try.

Love has always been a part of my life. To say "I love you" are easy words off of my tongue, because with people I care for - I can love easily. To love the unloveable and those who harm me, I have a little more trouble...but, I try. It might not be immediate but God brings me to that love after awhile. I'm so thankful He's patient with me!

Joy - that's a quality that remains with me through many things. When I lost my joy, I was nearly a catatonic wreck. Again, God stayed close to me until He could return it to my heart.

Peace - Pacifism? I always considered myself a pacifist. But, I don't know that's what God means here. Inner peace. A peace that comes from walking in His ways daily. When all is a swarm around me - I know that I can continue to walk with God. I tend to fall apart easily when things are making me crazy. But, it's always short term - and I'm always trying to allow God to bring calm back into my soul.

Patience. Now...there's a quality that God took His sweet time in bringing to me. I remember praying for this when I was in high school. No one told me that in praying, I might receive. And that reception of that, might be a long, learning process. I didn't find my husband until I was 35. I had long since learned patience.

Kindness. I see so many amazing people that can bring themselves to the level of a child and touch that child's heart with God's love. People that can hold on to a dirty, slimy child in a ghetto and share love that I will never feel. Love beyond pity. I envy this quality. But, again, God teaches me.

Goodness. Do you see the difficulty in maintaining all of these qualities in my life? It's hard! To be patient, to be kind, to be good. I was always 'the good girl'. I didn't veer too far from my parent's set of rules. And I stayed out of trouble for the most part. But, this seems to get harder as I get older. Only with God can I see the goodness in myself.

Faithfulness. Finally...here's one that is not as difficult for me to achieve. I am faithful to a fault. I believe in the people that I care for and no matter what I will continue to believe in them. I have been faithful my family, to my work, to my church, to my Lord for as long as I can remember.

Gentleness. Who comes to mind when this word comes up? I suspect it isn't me. Mother Teresa, a mother, Jesus. The image of Him holding children on His lap. A gentle touch changes everything. And God's touch in my life changed me.

Self-Control. Well, I might as well end this the same way I began it. With doubts of my own mastery of these qualities. Because I can't - alone. I feel like self control is the least of my qualities. The very least.

I believe that we can't achieve these qualities alone - no matter how disgusted I am with myself, no matter how much I try. These are the fruit of the Holy Spirit being active and alive in my life. And only through God's grace will I be able to act in accordance with them.

Oh dear Father, please allow me to show Your activity in my life through these fruits.