Guest Writer: Olivia Bridges
As a new mother, I’m in a season of gatekeeping my life. I’ve learned the pitfalls of allowing too much access to my heart - whether that’s too busy of a schedule, too much consumption of social media, or even too noisy the words of others. If something or someone isn’t going to be life-giving, supportive, or leave me better than I was before, I simply don’t have the emotional capacity to entertain it.
I remember asking God to give me discernment when it came to making choices regarding who or what I would allow in my life. From big things like visits with family members to small things like the music I listened to in the car or accounts I followed on Instagram, I wanted everything in my life to point me towards HIM, and Him alone.
It felt really complicated. It was overwhelming to think of all the things I’d need to screen or manage if I truly wanted to “cut the crap”.
But it’s really not. It’s actually quite simple. Almost childishly easy. And it’s probably hiding in the back of your brain, a simple tune from VBS tucked away that only resurfaces when you read a certain chapter in Galatians…
Yes! I’m talking about the Fruits of the Spirit!
God has led me to revive my childlike love for this sweet passage, and has revealed a much more mature way of applying it to my life. When deciding whether to trust someone with my deepest thoughts, or which words are going to come out of my mouth, or even whether or not I’m going to make space for a social interaction on my calendar, I run through the Fruits of the Spirit and ask myself these questions:
Will this event/person/word/etc. leave me feeling the Fruits of the Spirit?
Do I see evidence of the Fruits of the Spirit in this person/event/action/etc.?
Will other people see the Fruits of the Spirit in me if I move forward with this plan/conversation/friendship?
If the answer is “no” to any of these questions, it may be time to safeguard my heart, mind, family, and home from the situation. And if the answer is “yes”, I know that this interaction will uplift me and point me towards Jesus.
We get to choose how much weight we give to the voices in our lives. Not every voice is safe in every season, and even people we love may need to be muted a little in our ears and hearts.
But one thing is for sure - if we can clearly see the evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in the things we allow to take root in our lives, and we can notice the Fruits of the Spirit around us, then we can rest assured that we have made a sound decision that will keep our hearts safe and filled.
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