Bearing Lasting Fruit

Anyone serious about progress in the spiritual life must take time each day to reflect on his or her behavior. Some do this little exercise at noon, others do it at night, and others, with fresh minds, make it part of their morning prayer and take a reading of the previous day's score card in order to set the course for the coming day. Most often, something surfaces that makes us cringe: How could I have been so insensitive? Boy, I'm more self-centered than I thought. What don't I practice what I preach? Why did I not say thank you? How could I ignore so and so who evidently wanted a willing ear? On and on. We can choose to punish ourselves, torpedo our self-esteem, or we can choose to remember God's willingness, God's passionate desire to soothe and help us. After discovering the "guilty couple" in the Garden of Eden, and slamming the gate shut behind them, the consequence of their disobedience, God made the garments of skins to cover their now embarrassing nakedness. God is always there to outdo us in forgiveness and compassion and invites us over and over again to trust in his life-giving love. These two verses might help us remain on track as we start a new day:
"Blessed is the man (or woman) who trusts in the Lord,
whose hope is the Lord.
He (she) is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:

It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit. (Jer 17: 7-8)

No matter what our "review of the day" yields, let us not give up, but remember that our roots reach down to the LIVING STREAM...God's love. No heat, no drought can prevent us from bearing lasting fruit as long as our trust and hope are in God.
Bro. Rene