A friend of mine travelled to South America and I asked her to show me her pictures…
“I don’t want to be a bore,” she said.
I insisted and when she got to the shots she’d taken in a fruit & vegetable market in Peru I was so taken by the vibrant colors spilling off the stalls I just had to ask her to send them to me.
In the meantime I had a blog simmering on the back burner.
How could anyone, surrounded by the abundance of their hillside farmlands, not be uplifted by the sheer beauty of their harvest?
Then something occurred to me,
as an everyday job,
a chore,
a means for survival,
I’m guessing their view of the hard work, the fickleness of nature, the challenge of growing food on the side of a mountain,
-not to mention the blood, sweat and tears-
could also bring to mind the punishment God metes on Adam as He throws him out of the Garden of Eden,
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground…” (Genesis 3:17-19)
Way to go Adam.
I returned to my more otherworldly thoughts and Paul’s litany inched it’s way slowly forward,
“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
verses much delighted in and oft memorized by my children and me during homeschool.
What if I compared the fruit of the earth in all its glory, to the fruit of the Spirit manifested in me?
What if I examined each fruit closely?
Where would the flaws, the irregularities, the bruises be?
Could my Spirit-fruit shine in my words, cluster in my deeds, overflow into my thoughts?
Could my inner life possibly reflect these fragrant papayas, oranges and grapes so visibly on display,
these earthy vegetables and beans so radiantly glowing?
How much painful toil am I willing to exert to keep the thorns and thistles of temptation under control?
How much sweat am I willing to shed to keep my inner life healthy so I can thrive and reap what I sow until I die?
These photographs, casually shared by my friend over a glass of wine one afternoon, certainly gave me pause for thought.
If I’m to live a life touched by the Spirit,
I must outwardly proclaim my hidden rewards by,
brimming with love,
exclaiming with joy,
exuding peace,
serving calmly,
showering kindness,
glowing with goodness,
being faithful,
caring gently,
and never growing angry…
I must shine my light from within
as a wife to treasure,
a mother to honor,
a friend to cherish,
a neighbor to rely on,
an imago Dei.
(Pictures courtesy of Myra Robinson)
Well hello there! My name is Vivienne McNeny.
I am an empty nester exploring life as a Boomer…you could say I'm happily Boomering along!
As a homeschooling Mum I have finally quit the job of role model and mentor to my four children. I do what I want to do, eat when I feel like it, enjoy life with my blue eyed cowboy and clean my house once a month or so whether it needs it or not!
In true English form I write about the emergence of my true identity now that I can no longer hide behind my children as their Mum.
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