February 22

Good morning to you! It's FRIDAY.  Yes. Click here for today's Forward Day by Day readings: Forward Day by Day

So today we're going to begin exploring the contents of our bag. First we thought about how full and heavy it might feel to actually carry around everything you could possibly need — in a fanny pack. Then we named our bag, or at least thought about it. My bag is a "Very Present Help in Trouble Tote." Does yours have a name yet? Today's reading from Psalm 40 gives me another good name idea in case anyone's seeking suggestions. Psalm 40: 18 says, "Though I am poor and afflicted, the Lord will have regard for me. You are my helper and my deliverer." Doesn't the "My Helper and My Deliverer Murse (that's man purse for all you guys out there) have a nice ring to it?

And that brings us to today: the contents of said bag. Alright, ready...1...2....3. Let's get into this thing!

Spoiler alert: we all have the same tools. Which actually isn't a spoil, is it? In addition to all the other strengths God puts in our knapsack, he also has gifted each of us with the same COMPLETE SET. Any guesses on what's in that complete set? I'm not talking about the Laura Ingalls Wilder complete set of Little House on the prairie books...

...or a complete set of Ginsu knives....

...or the set of records from Grease...

No. The complete set in our bags is perishable. It's fruit, in fact. The fruit of the spirit. If you were to pull the complete set out of your bag, this is what would be all neatly lined up and packaged:

Love
Joy
Peace
Forbearance
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self Control

(See Galatians 5:22-23 for confirmation on the ingredients)

When you lift your complete set out of your bag, you'll see that there's still quite a bit of supplies left inside. Those are your other, and very important, God-given skills and strengths. The complete set, however, are the tools that you can use to do all of your daily lifting.

For the rest of the day, unwrap your complete set and get familiar with the mighty helpers you have at your disposal. I know I'd like to understand my Forebearance, or Patience, tool. Geez, I've got some jobs for that one! Patience really would have made a big difference last night when one of the kids asked me repeatedly for help on their science homework. As if I didn't see that they were looking for an easy way out of completing the task on their own! Geez! Instead of expressing Annoyance, perhaps I could have put ole Patience to work. Self-control, give this 'ole gal some relief! Calgon, take me away!

Tomorrow we'll begin assessing each one, and then we'll keep digging and explore what else is in that bag of ours.