Fruitful Advice for Supporting Communities

By Marjorie Foerster Eddington and Heather Libbe, college junior

To [insert your own community]…in hopes that we continue in our love and support for one another throughout the quarter and year.

There is so much to be grateful for here – so much good which is unfolding everyday, and so many wonderful qualities to celebrate in one another! As the fall season has quickly come upon us (and as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches), we can embrace with gratitude all that is given in the cornucopia of the "fruits of the Spirit," qualities which we can strive to express in our everyday lives.

Such gifts are these: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

• Love is in the apples – so red with both passion and compassion.
• Joy is the banana, which is cheerful and yellow.
• Oranges bring peace – the tranquility and calm of the orange color.
• With a pear comes longsuffering, as it patiently endures the ripening process.
• Gentleness is in the plums because they are subtle, but delicious. 
• Goodness can be tasted in the berries – strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, blackberries (they're all good).
• Faith is a peach -- it can be eaten by itself, but it's much better with ice cream (understanding).
• Meekness is the kiwi – such a small fruit with such a powerful taste.
• And pineapples bring temperance – controlling themselves until the time is right for them to be enjoyed.

Together, these fruits complement each other; and no meal can be as good as fresh fruit. As we indulge in these fruits, let us also share them with one another.

As we express these qualities, we can support one another. We cannot be punished when we share and give of our fruit because the cornucopia ever-replenishes itself from God's infinite supply.

Let us be humble and share. Let's help each other out. And let us rejoice that we can have the kindness, bliss, ease, patience, tenderness, integrity, trust, humility and dominion to do so.