Fruit of the spirit
The fruit of the spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 are listed above. Grammatically, they are listed in the verses as one entity, but they are nine distinct properties. Rarely does one person exhibit all these fruits of the Holy Spirit. Or they do so only for a time. The fruit of the spirit is born out of labor. It isn't free. It doesn't just happen. We have to work to bring it forth, just as we have to tend to our trees and plants to make them produce. Much labor brings forth fruit.
The woman I was in love with consistently exhibited many of these characteristics through the years. As long as I knew her, she was like that. Not only did she exemplify the virtuous woman in Proverbs, but she also exhibited many of the fruits listed in Galatians 5:22-23. This further reinforces what I feel about her being a treasure for any man. It certainly makes her a wonderful role model for her children and ex-husband, as well as many others.
Of course, I know no one is perfect. But you'd be hard pressed to find another woman with all of those traits. Jewels aren't just floating around in everyone's possession. Few men can lay claim to such a woman. As such, she became the model of what I look for in a woman. Going forward seems a difficult but necessary task. How I advance from here could determine what happens the rest of my life. So, I don't make any decisions lightly.
Extreme disappoints often breed extreme caution. I think that's where my head has been the last few years. I had to make some really humbling and stupefying decisions. But I'm still here. Still kicking. Still learning. Still trying.
No, I may never find another woman like her, but that won't stop me from trying. She's above and beyond a man like me. Like Icarus, those who fly too close to the sun are duly destroyed. I experienced nearly the same fate. But you can't blame me for trying, can you? It's better to be rejected by the best than anything less.
The woman God has for me will love me, and I will return the same kind of love. That love will spread to all those around us like a benevolent contagion (perhaps the name of my next blog). What she looks like, how she talks, and how how she walks, I have no clue. But I do know there will be love enough for both of us and our children. Amen.
Thank you all for reading. And God bless.
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