How The Fruits of the Spirit Relate to Motherhood

Growing up, I spent my whole childhood in church. I also went to a Christian school from Kindergarten to twelfth grade. I wouldn’t say that I know the whole Bible by any means, but I am very familiar with most of it. I’m also very happy to have a personal relationship with God. It has gotten me through so many hardships within the past few years.

I’m so far from perfect, and this past year has really tested my faith. I strayed from God out of guilt because of my choices. For three weeks now, my boyfriend, JJ (my 4 month old son), and I have been attending a new church. It has really given me a new peace because I feel like God has called us there, and I feel like I’m getting on the right track.

Here’s a picture of JJ in his church outfit yesterday.

In saying all of this, we went to church yesterday morning, and the preacher mentioned and listed the fruits of the spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 reads, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.“ As he read all of these attributes, I couldn’t help realize that you need all 9 of these “fruits” to be a good mother as well as a good Christian.

*These are just my interpretations and thoughts.*

As a mother, I always want my child to know that I LOVE him! I will always have an unconditional love for him no matter what he does in life.

I also want my child to see JOY and PEACE in me. Joy isn’t just happiness. Joy is having a good and positive outlook in life no matter what happens because my joy is from God! I can have joy and peace because I know that God is in control!

As a good mommy, I’ll definitely need PATIENCE! It’s already came in handy a few times! From that last month of pregnancy to the long nights of teething, having patience has gotten me a long way. I need to stay patient too because my journey in motherhood has only just begun!

I also need KINDNESS and GOODNESS as a mother. If I want to have a good relationship to my child, I need to show kindness to him.That won’t be hard at all because of how much I love him. Goodness kind of just follows kindness by putting action to your kindness.

I also want my child to see FAITHFULNESS in me. Faithfulness to God, to my husband, and to my children too. It’s like a dependability and trust that I’ll always be there for my family, and I’ll also try to always be faithful to God.

As a mom, you definitely need GENTLENESS. Gentleness is really the one that stands out to me the most. It makes me think of how a mothers touch can make everything better. I think of the times I hold my son, and I gently stroke his hair or his face. Mothers need to be gentle and loving with their children. It helps them grow.

In the Bible SELF-CONTROL is more of not indulging in sensual desires or things like that, but when I saw self control, I thought of those mom moments when we feel like throwing a tantrum with our kids. Somehow you have to keep it together so they can get it together. You have to have self-control so you don’t end up crying too!

These were just my thoughts and interpretations. I just thought it was kind of cool. Being a mom has really changed my point of view on things. I hope I can continue to have these “fruits” in my life as I continue to raise my son, and eventually have more children.