Wednesday’s Jewels: Naked Fruit
I love it when I stumble upon words that quietly take up residence in my soul: a quote worth sharing, a question worth asking, a prayer worth repeating. I love it when another truth seeker’s reverent musings lift my thoughts above dirty diapers, dirty dishes and dirty laundry. I feel grateful when another seeker’s words chase me shamelessly to the Living Word. As the wise writer of Proverbs declares, “The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry…” (Proverbs 34:11).
I’m digging in somebody else’s jewelry box today. I think you’ll enjoy the poignant pearls of truth that accessorize this post. If you’ve found the “right word at the right time” this week, feel free to open up your box of jewels and share it here. I’d love to pick it up, polish it off and enjoy its beauty, too!
As I’ve been thinking about the Spirit’s fruit lately, I’ve pulled a few “old reads” off my bookshelf and browsed the pages once again. One of my favorite fruity reads is Elisa Morgan’s book called Naked Fruit. Written with gritty honesty and surprising simplicity, this MOPS title invites moms to grow a bumper crop of God’s personality traits in our own lives.. even self-control!
As Elisa explains why she needs the last fruit on the list, she shares this story. Oh, how I can relate!
“It had been a loooooooong day. It was late. I felt like one of those cardboard juice boxes- except there had been about fourteen straws stuck in me, and everybody around me had been taking a draw all day. I was sucked dry.
Then came the requests for a shirt to be washed in an extra, special load; for mac and cheese instead of hamburgers; and-oops- for a dozen cookies for the bake sale that no one had informed me was the next day.
I tried to hold it together. I took a deep breath. I thought about my “happy place.” But somehow, the Monster Mom inside me snuck through a tiny hole in the wall around my emotions and made a break for it. She was out!
“Is the mother the only person in this family who can wash a shirt?” she bellowed. Monster Mom wheeled toward the laundry room, snatching the soiled shirt in her grip, and plunged it into the washing machine.
“Is the mother the only person in this family who can make mac and cheese?” she screeched. Monster Mom slammed a saucepan into the sink, filling it to overflowing with hot water to boil. (Who was it that was boiling here?)
“Is the mother the only person in the family who can keep track of what needs to be done and when?” she escalated as she smacked a cookie sheet on the counter, attacking it with store-bought dough.
Yep. Monster Mom was on the loose all right. Oh, I tried to keep her penned up inside. There is a thick, tall, imposing and supposed-to-be-impenetrable wall around my inner being that keeps her in place, unable to damage others or me. But sometimes she scrapes open a spot and escapes. I’ve discovered she’s very resourceful. She can get through the tiniest of gaps ( Naked Fruit 129-131).
“Is there a hole in your wall?” Elisa asks after the candid confession of her monster mom fiasco. “Is there a spot where you tend to give way over and over again? Is it in the area of impatience? Imperfection? Temptation? Is there a tiny gap, barely noticeable, or a gaping gash, through which all your good intentions hurry out?” (Naked Fruit 131).
Let’s get “naked” before God and invite Him to fix those holes that allow the Mommy Monster to slip into our homes. I think I may need more than one new brick to fix my my own gaps!
