'Leaf' it up to God.

    I remember being a dirty-faced eight year old little girl filling a bucket of cherries from the cherry tree growing in the open field across from my father's house. The cherries were so good I just couldn't help but to indulge, covering myself in stains that seemed like blood around my lips and all over my summer clothes. I would climb up to the top imagining myself being far more adventurous than I really was, breaking multiple limbs, or dragon necks, along the way. I could care less about the tree I just wanted the mystical princess treasure- the sweet fruit.
    To this day I imagine myself far more adventurous than I actually am. And I still could care less about the tree, I just want the fruit. What kind of cherries, or apples, or mangos, or bananas would there be if there was no tree? There wouldn't be. When a farmer goes to grow the apple tree, he doesn't water and prune the apple itself, he nurtures the tree.
    We want the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, but we're focusing too intently on the fruit itself instead of the One who produces it. We need a source, we need the tree, or in this case, we need the Spirit. We can't conjure up fruit out of thin air, unless we want it to be synthetic and fake. It might taste for a moment like the real thing, but with time it will leave a bad flavor on your tongue and for all who taste it.
    Changing our hearts is the Holy Spirit's job. We can never be our own Savior. All we can do is keep our eyes soberly focused on the One who redeems, falling deeper in love with Him, praying He sanctifies us to become more like Himself. When we take time to properly nurture or relationship with Christ, the fruit will bloom as it should. As it's promised. Then we will be like dirty-faced eight year olds, wearing the proof that the tree exists and the fruit is sweet all over our faces for everyone to see.

-HJ