Bible Reading: Galatians 5:22-25

"Mom, can we have fruit salad for lunch?" asked Brynlee.

"Good idea," said Mom. "You can help me make it. We have lots of different kinds of fruit we can use today." As they began putting the fruit together, Mom had an idea. "Maybe we can put nine different kinds of fruit in our salad and pretend we're putting in the fruit of the Spirit," she said. "We learned about them in church last week, remember?"

"Yeah," said Brynlee. "I'll name them as we put them in." She put orange pieces into a big bowl. "I'll call these love," she said. Then she opened a can and added pineapple chunks. "These will be joy. What else do we have?"

"I have some fresh peach wedges ready," said Mom. "And here's a cantaloupe we can cut up."

Brynlee put in the peaches, calling them peace. She decided on patience for the cantaloupe. "The apples will be kindness, and the pears will be goodness," she said. "I'll slice some bananas and call them faithfulness."

"Okay, and you can add some of these grapes," said Mom. Brynlee called the grapes gentleness.

"We still need a fruit for self-control," said Brynlee. "But we don't have anything else, do we?"

Mom shook her head. "No, I don't think so," she said. "Unless…" She opened a cupboard door. "How about some dried cranberries?"

"All right!" said Brynlee. "Now we have something for each fruit of the Spirit."

"Good," said Mom. "You did a great job remembering them. You got them all!"

At lunchtime, everyone enjoyed the salad. "Good to the last bite," said Dad, popping the last piece of pineapple into his mouth.

"And now our fruit of the Spirit is all gone," said Brynlee.

"I hope not!" said Mom. "Spiritual fruit will always be a part of our lives as Christians. As we rely on the Holy Spirit to fill us with love and become more like Jesus, others will be able to see the fruit of God's love in us."

Dad nodded. "I pray that the fruit God produces in our lives will show people we belong to Him."

–Linda Weddle