Fruits of the Spirit

My Family: It was early last year when Kyle & I decided that scripture study wasn't happening and to find time was like trying to find a needle in a hay stack... we also decided that Family Home Evening wasn't our thing because Heaven knows we need it MORE than once a week... so Kyle came up with a plan. We decided on Devotionals... we decided that the only time we had was at 6:00AM... and we decided that this had to work.. it had to fill the feelings of guilt.. it had to fill the darkness I was feeling.. and it had to bring back to our family what we were all starving for... THE SPIRIT...

It was hard.. kids were tired.. mom was cranky.. dad had to be prepared.. kids were late.. mom was late.. dad was not prepared.. and sometimes our Devotionals were spent in silence or tears..but we kept going.. 5 days a week..

Fast forward to this year.. we took the summer off, BIG MISTAKE.. I don't think we will do that again.. kids are ready... we are more prepared.. dad is up earlier.. mom is up earlier & actually showered.. (I'm still a work in progress) Kylee is serving in the mission field..

What's the point of this blog... this year we decided that since Kylee is serving a mission we decided to learn right along with her & study what she is studying. So I bought everyone a Preach my Gospel book and we have been studying how to be a missionaries. We discuss the scriptures.. we share our testimonies.. we apply the scriptures to our daily lives & help each other through OUR trials...

In fact.. Kyle asked Ella if she was going to serve a mission (I am PRO young women serving) and she said that at first she was NOT going to serve a mission because she didn't know what they taught, but now that she knows what they teach & share with everyone that she thinks she would like to serve a mission.

But this morning we were studying the scriptures about the Holy Ghost... and this scripture stood out to me.. GALATIANS 5: 22-25.. www.lds.org

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, LONG-SUFFERING, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

My first reaction was why long-suffering... that means I must BE the Spirit. Because I feel like my life the last 10 years has been nothing but Long-Suffering. And I've been perplexed by this all morning, why is long suffering a FRUIT.. Fruit is supposed to taste good, be juicy, be beautiful, be tempting, but as I write I think when you endure with Long-Suffering you gain the other fruits, you gain Gentleness.. Meekness.. Goodness.. Faith.. Temperance..

I still have a long way to go for some of the Fruits... but it is comforting to know that when I am feeling like I'm in a long-suffering section of my life, that just maybe, the Spirit is holding me together..

And the tender mercies of having these devotionals every morning have certainly brought the Spirit in our Home.. they aren't perfect devotionals.. but they most certainly have become a way that our family has found  to stay together in this most chaotic place, called Life.

Peace & Blessings
xoxo