Tag: Holy Spirit

Gates

As complicated as our relationship with fences may be, everyone likes a gate.

A gate embodies our access to the other side of the fence, where the grass is greener. A gate means we can come and go; a gate means we aren’t forever restricted to whatever side of the fence we find ourselves on. A gate is freedom to change.

My gate is nothing special, but it will allow me access behind the taller fence to plant, tend, and harvest my vegetables. When it is shut, it will keep predators and mowers out; when it is open, I will have complete access to my garden. The gate allows me to enter my garden’s protected space and allows me to leave and interact with the world.

But the question arises – who’s guarding the gate?

The gate must latch shut to serve any purpose. Who can open it? In my garden’s case, any human could operate the latch. But if we move into the internet world, gates can become quite complicated. Hard-to-remember passwords, multi-step verifications, biometrics, we must prove ourselves to invisible gatekeepers before we can enter our own spaces.

When my husband sold to the military, not only did he need clearance to enter a base, but they would check his car for hidden bombs before they would open the gate. The bases had serious gates and serious gatekeepers. The verses from Revelation I cited last week said there were angels guarding the twelve gates of the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:12). Serious gatekeepers.

Jesus refers to himself as both the gate and the shepherd who leads his sheep through the gate.

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. John 10:2-3.

I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. John 10:9.

The beauty of a gate is the freedom to move in and out. We are not called to be stagnant, to hide behind our fence in a secure location with the gate bolted shut. Or be shut out forever. Jesus calls us to move in and out and we are to follow his voice.

Jesus himself moved in and out of the gate, becoming human, suffering in a cruel world, and returning to await the end days. The Holy Spirit moves between the heavenly realm and the earthly realm, calling the lost sheep, directing our path, and leading us safely home. To God, the gate between heaven and earth is no more complicated than the latch on my garden gate.

To me, the latch of heaven’s gate is impossible. I cannot open the gates to heaven by myself. I am not holy enough to enter through the gate, much less open it. I can only hope that I have been cleared by Jesus and any hidden bombs have been detected and diffused. I must rely on Jesus to open it for me. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God moves freely in and out of the gate. God is everywhere. Whether we seek Him or ignore Him, He is there, calling out to us.

Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Shaol, you are there. Psalm 139:7-8.

This is the good news, dear friend. Wherever you are, whatever side of the fence you are on, no matter impenetrable the walls look, the gates are open to Jesus. He will lead us in and out and show us pasture.

Is He leading you?

Love in Christ, Betsy

Fences

My yard helpers and I are putting the new fence around my garden in weekly installments. The old fencing was bent and broken, and I wanted easier access to my plants. The deliberate slowness of installing this fence, not a normal trait of mine, has left me with time to contemplate why I want the fence, what its purpose is, and how best to achieve those ends.

Fences generate emotions in me, probably in you as well, often conflicting emotions based on which side of the fence we are on and who is manning the gate. I’ll talk about the gate next week. This week I am wrestling with the fence itself.

Why do I need a fence? The answers seem obvious. I need a fence to protect my young plants from bunnies and ‘possums and my neighbor’s dog when she escapes her invisible fence. I need a fence to delineate where the mowers are supposed to mow and where they are not. I need a dedicated space where I can nourish the soil and protect the plants and give my seeds and saplings the best chance to thrive and bear fruit.

We need fences in our life as well if we are to bear spiritual fruit. We need those fences so we can dedicate certain parts of our day to God and God alone. Thirty minutes without the phone or computer or television to meditate on His Word and converse with Him in prayer. A small space that nourishes our soul and protects our faith and gives us the best chance to thrive and bear the Spirit’s fruit.

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. Mark 1:35.

Fences make good neighbors and we dream of the white picket one. Therapists tell us to develop boundaries for better personal mental health. Groups have fences that delineate membership, some invisible, some difficult to articulate. And at least one researcher has found that playgrounds without fences lead children to huddle around the adults, while playgrounds with fences encourage them to explore the entire space. Yet, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and that is the problem with fences.

When I was a freshman in college I applied for an exclusive organization. To be accepted I went through two rounds of written essays and a weekend of personal interviews. They took fifteen freshmen from a large state university. During one interview I was questioned about my decision to join a sorority since they were so exclusive. Often one’s view of a fence depends on which side of it they are on.

We struggle as Christians with fences, specifically a fence around the kingdom of God. Some would build it so sturdy and small that few (if any) would be allowed in. Some believe there is no fence at all. Most believe the fence around the kingdom is of God is there, but disagree on its purpose, its porousness, and its permanence. We sometimes worry about which side of the fence we are on.

I can cite Bible verses to support almost any position on fences. You probably can too. These are the ones I keep returning to:

It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates, twelve angels. Its gates will never be shut by day – and there shall be no night there. Nothing unclean will enter it… but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Revelation 21:12, 25, 27.

A holy space, separated from evil by a high wall, with open gates.

While I am building my fence in my backyard for my garden to thrive, only God gets to determine the fence around His Kingdom. I can’t claim to tell you what it is, but I do encourage you to turn to God in prayer, to seek him out and find him, because if we are to enter, we need to know who is guarding the gate.

Love in Christ, Betsy

A Spot of Green

The rain falls gently on the parched ground in my yard, plastering the fallen leaves to the driveway. I am like the brittle grass, reaching up to collect each precious drop. Oh, how my yard needed this respite from the drought! Oh, how I did!

The muck in the creek rinses clear and the dormant eggs lying there burst into life. Little minnows dart around my grandson’s feet as we wade together through two inches of water. Already the grass along the banks is turning green despite the October chill in the air. Amazing how even a little rain can revitalize the world and restore life.

I had put my garden to rest until spring. Pulled down the old fence to begin work on the new one. Pulled up most of my plants. What wasn’t killed by blight was scorched by heat and drained of life by drought. The garden was over for the year. Only laziness had left the basil plants in the ground, brown and leafless.

Or maybe it was a nudge from God that had me leave the basil plants there. Because He is using them to restore my hope and bring my dormant seeds of faith to life.

The basil plants are covered in new green leaves. Bright and fragrant, they stand in contrast to the brown of my garden and my yard. See what God’s life-giving rain can do! See what God’s live-giving love can do.

I have been parched, feeling drained by demands and decisions and lacking the Spirit’s rejuvenating inspiration. This has been a time of soldiering on, preserving in the small tasks, taking tiny bites in faith that one day the elephant will be gone. (How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.) My quiet times have been just that – quiet. The grass had withered under the relentless sun and parched air.

As a deep longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Psalm 42:1-2

I train myself to give thanks for these times, times when my faith is put into action, when my roots can grow deep, when I can prove my perseverance. But what joy and relief when the rain comes!

Life revitalized, dormant ideas brought to life, dreams considered dead showing new signs of life. Each drop of the Spirit’s presence is an answered prayer, a call to life, invigorating, and restorative.

Perhaps we will have colors other than brown before fall morphs into winter. Perhaps I will get to make pesto once more this season. Hope – renewed by a little rain.

Perhaps you too have been feeling the drain of too much heat and too little water. Don’t hide yourself inside when the rain comes. Be like the brittle grass and reach out to catch each drop. Be like the dormant eggs that burst into life. Be like the basil plants bearing new leaves no matter how late in the season it is.

These expressions of life are made even more brilliant by the drab and dying environment around them. This may be your opportunity to show the world what water, the Spirit’s living water, can do.

Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that it is you. 1 Peter 3:15b.

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1.

Perhaps this is your opportunity to be the green plant in the brown field.

Love in Christ, Betsy

Sun Rise

The sun rises through the trees and fills the day with light. The mist on the ground evaporates and the sky brightens to a glorious shade of blue. The sun has risen. Risen indeed!

What a joy to watch the darkness disperse. What a blessing to see leaves that looked gray in the dark slowly become a radiant shade of orange in the sunlight. Look what God is showing us He can do.

The leaves on the tree cannot block the light forever and soon even those will fall. The clouds in the sky cannot dim the sun forever. Soon the light will break forth from behind the clouds and stretch across the sky.

There is no stopping the light of God. There is no hiding the love of Christ.

Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12.

His beauty and His love are everywhere, surrounding us as completely as the light of the sun surrounds us during the day. Often His love is hidden by anger and hate or dulled by clouds of gloom and despair. But He knows us too well and loves us too much to stay hidden forever. And when His presence breaks forth in our lives, what a glorious thing! This is cause for rejoicing!

I have had my moments of darkness, my nights of sorrow and despair and anger. I have nursed the fear that they would continue forever. But God (the two words that change everything), God breaks through with light and hope, with love and joy, just as the sun breaks through the clouds and shines through the leaves that would hide it. He relieves me of the burden of my sinfulness; He dispels the gloom of a fallen world; He shows me a better way.

I have experienced it myself and seen it in the lives of others. Deep in darkness, the light bursts through. We see where we have been wrong, where we have hurt others and ourselves, where we have not acted in love. God burns it all away in his light and shows us a path of love instead. And when we turn to follow Him, I think all heaven rejoices just as I rejoice.

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:6-7.

I face the rising sun and let it warm my skin as it dispels the darkness. It’s a new day, the day the Lord has made. No matter how cold and dark the night was, I will rejoice in this day and be glad in it. The sun has risen and a glorious day awaits.

Christ is risen; He is risen indeed!

Now is the Time

The January ice storm had killed my previous arborvitae, which had grown too tall for my front garden anyway. These were planted in late spring, which seemed like a good time to plant new ones, and there was an abundance of them at the garden store. Apparently, though, late spring is not the best time to plant arborvitae; early fall is.

Like planting garlic in the late fall, the idea of planting trees in the fall feels a little unwise. Aren’t we headed into winter when things die? According to experts, though, it is the shock of warmer temperatures which threaten the plant. In duress, early spring is okay, but my poor new plants had faced drought and extreme temperatures and had not survived.

Now is the time to replace my dead arborvitae with new ones. The preferred window for planting is short and almost over. The time to plant is now.

It’s got me thinking about other things that seem to have time constraints on them. I remember the Israelites who missed their first opportunity to enter the promised land. I remember Esther who waited for the second dinner to make her request, not even knowing how God was preparing the king’s heart and mind. These stories remind me that timing matters, and we need to follow God’s timing, not our own.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6.

I had an old family piano in need of repair that I decided to get rid of. For some reason, I couldn’t pull the trigger; I couldn’t let go. For a year, I looked at that piano and felt, ‘not today.’ Then one morning, it was time. I put an ad online and got an immediate response. A small church had voted the night before to allocate exactly the amount it would take to get my piano in working order. God’s timing. They came and picked it up that afternoon.

Sometimes we need to act at once. Sometimes we need to wait. God knows when the time is right and if we stay in connection with Him, He will let us know as well. It’s scary. I don’t want to miss an opportunity; I don’t want to mess it up by acting too quickly. My own knowledge is so limited.

Fortunately, God has sent us the Holy Spirit to guide our steps, a good shepherd to lead His sheep. Often, He gives us second chances, and sometimes third and fourth chances! I can replant my arborvitae. It took forty years, but the Israelites did enter the promised land.

I can imagine few things worse than spending eternity realizing I had missed my opportunity to get to know God. We have so much to be thankful for on this earth, so much beauty, so many relationships. God wants to connect with us and gives us many opportunities to get to know Him. I don’t want to miss a one. I don’t want to have any regrets that I acted too quickly or too slowly. That’s probably an unreasonable expectation, but I will not miss the opportunity to follow Him today.

For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time, see now is the day of salvation! 2 Corinthians 6:2.

My landscapers are here with my new arborvitae. Now is the time.

Love in Christ, Betsy

Armchair Quarterback

It’s football time!

Beyond watching the game, many of us also coach the players from our dens. Throw the ball! Run! Go for it! As if we know more about the situation then those athletes and coaches who have played and studied the game for years. As if we were physically or mentally capable of doing what they are doing. As if we were willing to dedicate that much of our life to this game. Because let’s face it, I am not. I do not have the skill set or raw talent they have. I have not spent hours on training and physical conditioning. I have not learned the nuances of my teammates or my opponents. I don’t know all the different options available and what determines which plays are carried out when. I have not immersed myself in strategy and analytics. So, what qualifies me to criticize these players and coaches who have?

And if that is true in football, it has become a national obsession with politics. I am completely unqualified and incapable of running for President, being elected President, or governing as President. My guess is that that is true for you as well. And yet, without being to understand the complexities of the job, we routinely criticize whoever holds that position. As if we could do a better job. As if meeting my expectations of leadership were the President’s objective, as if he should value my opinions at all. What hubris!

I fear we do this with God as well sometimes. We question His motives, His presence, His sovereignty. We think He doesn’t love us when we don’t get our way. We stomp our feet like an indignant three-year-old and scream. And when we have finished with our fit, God answers.

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements – surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? Job 38:4-7.

That is not to say that we should stop asking questions, stop trying to learn more. If we care about football, we should learn the rules, the strategies, and the physical demands of the game. If nothing else, it helps us realize how difficult their job really is. Asking questions and learning the answer may help us understand why the players we were yelling at from our couches did not throw or run or go for it.

And we certainly should care about how our leaders govern us. If there are issues that are important to us, we should be all means get involved in advocating for those issues, whatever they may be. But for the past fifty years, we have made a pastime of hating our President. No matter what our President is doing, we criticize his decisions and how they are made. As if we could do better.

And we should certainly bring our questions to God. We should study and read and learn and pray and worship and stomp our feet occasionally. From Abraham to Nicodemus, God welcomes our questions, our arguments, our wrestling. He wants us to ask because He wants us to get to know Him better.

And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3.

Sometimes a question is criticism and sometimes it is a pathway to deeper understanding. Let’s stop asking questions like we already know the right answer. Let’s admit that we are not trained athletes or successful politicians. Let’s admit that we are not God and resist the urge to criticize Him. Instead, let us bring all things to Him in prayer.

Love in Christ, Betsy

Roots

A few years ago, a best-selling Christian author told a story about a tree that had fallen in her yard.

She had installed an underground irrigation system to keep her grass and trees alive. It worked, but the system had encouraged the tree to send its roots out laterally through out the yard just under the water source. While the tree’s shallow roots brought ample water, when the storm came, the tree was unable to stay standing. Its roots were too shallow. To stay upright, the tree needed to develop deeper roots.

The speaker left the story there. We need to develop deeper roots to withstand the storms that life will certainly bring.

The story has stayed with me. What I keep returning to is what caused the tree to have shallow roots. The tree was doomed because it had never been forced to develop deep roots. It did not have to work for the water. There were no dry spells to encourage the roots to dig deep into the ground for hidden aquafers.

The woman meant well watering her yard. We all mean well when we make life easier for others. We care about our plants, our pets, our family, our friends, and even the wildlife around us.

But there is growing research that what we think is helpful may be harmful. Feeding wildlife can hinder their ability to forage naturally (Don’t feed the wildlife!). There is growing evidence that protecting our young children from failure and heartache limits their ability to manage those situations as adults (Let your children fail). And making water too easily accessible for our trees may prevent them from growing deeper roots.

Could this be true in our faith as well?

A woman once told me that she had been skipping going to her big screen church because she just didn’t feel happy enough to sing all that praise music and lift her hands. I wanted to ask her what being happy had to do with worshiping God, but instead I encouraged her to read the psalms.

I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. Psalm 6:6.

Just maybe it is precisely the times of pain and thirst that encourage us to develop deeper roots of faith.

Can we believe in a God who lets thousands die in flooding? Who lets a child be abused? Can we worship a God who shatters our happy life? How will we know if our life is always easy and successful and well-watered?

When the storms of life come, and they do come, I want my roots to reach deep to find the hidden joys of a relationship with God. There is everlasting water there. It may not be easy water. It probably won’t be easy water. It may not contain the laughter of the water park, but it will bring peace and strength and faith.

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14.

Today, I will praise God for those days when He has led me develop deeper roots of faith. I thank Him for those days of drought and heat, of tears and sadness, of doubts and fears that have led me to dig deep and find His eternal water.

Would it be wrong to wish the same for you?

Love in Christ, Betsy

Hidden by Weeds

I did a little long-overdue weeding of my cucumber patch and look what I found – a cucumber hidden by the weeds, over ripe and rotting on the ground.

My first thought was anger at myself for having missed it when it was green. If I had kept the weeds at bay, if I had been more diligent in training the cucumbers to the climbing cage, if, if, if. We’ve all done that, or, at least, I hope I’m not the only one who does that. But who knows why I missed it. It doesn’t change the fact that I did. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, didn’t.

It’s got me thinking about other kinds of fruit that could be hidden under other kinds of weeds.

I’m in the middle of a rather large purchase of lake front property right now, and it has me anxious. I know, do not be anxious about tomorrow, but I really want this to happen and am missing my husband. I am riddled with concern that I am messing it up or forgetting something vitally important or making a huge mistake or biting off more than I can possibly chew. I am letting the weeds grow up.

As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go along their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. Luke 8:14.

Or it rots unseen.

When I am anxious, I tend to be short with people, easily agitated, impatient. Love and gentleness may be present in my life, but it is hidden when I am anxious. And if I don’t tend to these weeds now and let that fruit be seen, the opportunity to do so may be lost.

Because that cucumber when ripe would have been a blessing. I love cucumber sandwiches. I love to munch on crispy slices, plain or with a little basil. Cucumbers are a wonderful addition to corn salad or tossed salad. But the moment for that cucumber to be a blessing has passed. It was lost because I let it be hidden under the weeds.

Now and for the next few months I will be dealing with a host of new people, attorneys and landscapers, builders, surveyors, and the corps of engineers to make this lake property a reality. I will have many opportunities to bear the Spirit’s fruit and further the kingdom, or hide that fruit under the weeds of anxiety, the cares and pleasure of life. And if that fruit is hidden now, it may never have the opportunity to bless the person for whom God is growing it.

Perhaps this rotting cucumber is calling me to weed now and avoid the coulda, woulda, shoulda of missed opportunity.

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7.

I pick the rotting cucumber and add it and the pulled weeds to the compost pile. God can turn even our failures into blessing. And I head inside to spend some time weeding my soul as I have weeded the garden.

Love in Christ, Betsy

Figs

School has started and summer draws to a close. My garden is winding down as well. The leaves on the cucumber plants have begun to wither and there are no more blossoms on the peppers. Soon it will be time to harvest the basil and freeze pesto for the winter. But my figs – they are telling a different story.

I have eaten ripe figs in early August, so I know that these figs may be ripening late, but what a gift! This is year three for my fig tree, the year they are due to bear fruit, and my little tree is loaded with green buds. As I slowly dismantle my garden, I know these buds will grow larger and turn purple, soft, and delicious.

The promise of fruit, the waiting as the plant grows, the excitement as the fruit appears, this anticipation is one of the great joys of gardening.

So often, our food needs are met immediately. We go to the store, get what we want, and eat it. Is it winter? That is no problem. Someone has shipped fruit and vegetables from a warmer clime or grown them in a hothouse. You can get almost any produce even on the coldest days. No waiting, no anticipation.

A garden reminds us that God did not create a world where our wants were met immediately. He created a world of seasons, of fluctuations in temperature and rainfall, of planting and waiting.

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. James 5:7.

It’s hard to be patient. It’s difficult to wait. How long, O Lord?

As children, we must wait to grow up, until we are large enough, smart enough, old enough, until we are mentally and physically capable. As adults we must wait (hopefully) for the right spouse, the right job, the right place to live. We wait to have children and then wait for them to mature. We wait for wrong doers to be brought to justice and good people to get a reprieve from their troubles. We wait for God to change the people around us and, if we are honest, to change us as well. We wait for figs to ripen.

While waiting, we continue in our daily tasks of tending. We water and weed the garden. We struggle at the challenges of the day. We help those around us. We aid those who are hurting and love our neighbors. We pray and meditate on scripture. We listen for God’s call to us and follow Him.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8.

And as we go about our tasks, the fig ripens. The child grows up, we find a soulmate, we find purpose in a vocation, wrongs are righted, and prayers are answered. We may even realize that we have been changed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The day will come when these figs are ready to harvest. The day will come when we are ready to face the Lord. The day will come when God puts all his enemies under his foot. Until that time, persevere in your daily tasks, pray without ceasing, savor the joy of anticipation, learn the peace of patience, wait for the fig to ripen.

Because those figs would not taste good today, but in the future, they will be delicious!

Love in Christ, Betsy

Not a Bell Pepper

At the garden store this past spring, I bought two red bell peppers and one yellow bell pepper. This gorgeous pepper is not a bell pepper.

This has happened to me before. The plants look similar and are often returned by shoppers to an incorrect shelf. One year, the pepper we bought by mistake was so hot that we had to wash our hands after touching it. I think this is a Marconi, which is a sweet pepper, just not bell shaped. Of course, I won’t really know until I dare to taste it.

I am sure the plant had a little marker stuck in the soil to identify it. I even put those in the ground next to the plant. Only now, months later, it is not there. I can’t even blame the wrong plant on mislabeling. I may just have been too casual in identifying it. I may have assumed that since it was with the bell peppers, it was indeed a bell pepper. My bad.

You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? Matthew 7:16

That is not a bell pepper. Being close to plants growing the desired fruit does not make it those plants, any more than the weeds growing in my garden are peppers.

Going to church on Sundays does not make you a believer. If you are a believer, that is certainly where you want to be, who you want to associate with, how you connect with the larger body of Christ. If you are a bell pepper, you want to grow in the garden with the rest of the peppers.

But our presence is not the final word. God wants more from us than just proximity. He wants more than just the appearance of right living. He wants a man after his own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), a contrite heart (Psalm 51:17), someone who will love him (Matthew 23:37).

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:5.

And if we do this, good fruit will follow. Because a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. (Matthew 7:18).

I hope this is not bad fruit growing in my garden. I hope it’s just not what I was expecting. The truth will be in the taste, but I will let it grow for now.

It’s not unlike God to surprise us sometimes. I think He enjoys leaving us little surprise gifts, much like any parent wants to surprise their child with a treat. Or maybe He is encouraging me to be more alert when picking plants. Maybe He is showing me a pepper I will like better than the bells. Maybe He is teaching me that good fruit can look different from what I expect.

The plant is healthy. The plant is producing. The fruit looks like good, albeit unexpected, fruit. It may be a gift. I don’t want to pull it and discard the gift. I certainly don’t want to be found fighting against God because it was not what I expected (Acts 5:39).

When harvest time comes, when the pepper is ready to pick, the truth will be known. For now, I’ll pull only the weeds. I know they are not bearing any good fruit. I will let the pepper grow and see what God has in store.

Love in Christ, Betsy