Your Fruit Will Speak for You

Hello Friends!

Today’s post may be short because I’ve been so busy this week, but for the best reasons. I am writing from Rhode Island, where I’ve been spending time with family and celebrating my grandmother’s 90th birthday. The week before our trip up I also learned of the passing of a woman from our Rhode Island church family. Her name was Rose; she was 92 and a staple in our church. I was so thankful that I would have the opportunity to attend her memorial. These two momentous occasions had me pondering on their lives this week and one thing I felt God impress upon my heart was just how far reaching the impact of our lives can be.

My grandmother has been someone who has taught me so much in my life, maybe most importantly is the importance of family and showing up for each other. She is the matriarch of our family and one who made many wonderful memories throughout my childhood. There were many holidays spent at her house with all the cousins, cookouts where we would organize and perform talent shows and play dress up with her old clothes, and she was present for all the major events in my life. Being there mattered to her deeply.

She is famous in our family for saying, “I’m just not good at sharing”, especially as we got older and started dating, marrying and building our own lives. As a parent now I look back and see that beneath those words was a heart wanting to hold us close. I also dream of a future in which my kids and grandchildren are close, and I can speak love and life over them.

Rose was also her family’s anchor. At her memorial many people shared memories and photos of their time with her. We didn’t know each other very well personally, but we did converse many times at various church functions. She was the kind of woman whose words would linger and find a place in your heart, shaping you even long after the words were spoken.

One thing she had said has stayed with me for years and it came flooding back to me this week. She would say, “The best tool we have to reach the lost is our own life.”

She believed that the way we live, following Jesus in our everyday life, is the greatest testimony we have. That the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) should speak louder than our mouths ever could. She wasn’t about chasing people down or lecturing them with scripture. She believed that if you truly walk with Jesus, people will see Him in you.

In a world where words are everywhere, and opinions fly, and arguments get louder; I’m reminded that maybe what’s needed most is less noise and more fruit and more presence. Maybe what speaks loudest is a quiet steady life of someone who genuinely loves Jesus and loves people.

Your fruit will speak for you.
It tells the story of who you’re following.
It reveals the root of your life.
It shows the world what is really inside.

I’m going to carry these lessons with me this week as I continue to reflect on two women, one who is beginning her tenth decade of life, and one who has finished her race well. Both reminding me that a life of love for Jesus and people is a life well lived and the loudest testimony we can ever offer.