“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22
Each Sunday this summer, someone from our community is reflecting on a particular fruit of the Spirit. This week, Klayne and Selena shared about faithfulness. As a preacher, someone who both loves words and loves with words, I want to remember this line of Klayne: “They may forget words, but they remember who stayed, who cared, who prayed, and who kept showing up.” Faithfulness isn’t about showing up perfectly, but it is about showing up.
On Sunday I talked with the children about having a pet. Pets need to be walked and fed, whether we feel like it or not, over the long haul. Bringing an animal into one’s home is a lesson in faithfulness. This made me think of Finn, my big black dog, and over the last few days I’ve really been missing his presence and the faithful devotion we had for one another.
This morning, I awoke to find a clay figure of a little black dog on my table. After asking Craig, I found out that Adam’s girlfriend’s sister had made it for us to commemorate Finn. I was so touched by this act of kindness from someone I hardly know. It taught me something else about faithfulness. She was faithful to that little impulse in her heart to love through something that comes easily to her – pottery. So, faithfulness can be something we do over the long haul for one person, like watering a tomato plant over and over again, but then again, we can be faithful to the pulse of love within us and scatter it in many directions, like sowing seeds.
This week, I wonder what impulse towards faithfulness will be beating in your heart? I wonder where you will have a chance to exercise the muscle of faithfulness by showing up, even when you don’t feel like it? I wonder where you will encounter God’s faithfulness to you? Pay attention, for God has a way of showing up, disguised as our life.
“Maybe faithfulness isn’t loud. Maybe, it looks like continuing……continuing to trust, continuing to love, continuing to show up, and discovering along the way that God has been faithfully walking with us the entire time.” – Klayne
Blessings, Anne