Quiet and Holy

Cats are cool -- they're quiet too! We don’t have a cat because Mr. Bill doesn’t like cats. Maybe I’ll have one some day if Mr. Bill warms to the idea. A cat would be quite a change from our last pet, DC - the family beagle. He was loud and tromped around on the porch and did what he loved best -- barked. If I reached down to rub his head, he rolled over on his back expecting a stomach rub.  Of course, there were guy-people here that played that game!

God expects fruitfulness from those who claim to be His.  Fruits of the Spirit -- His Spirit steers our lives in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).  During the Third Century, St. Cyprian wrote this message to a friend, "This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden ... But if I climbed some great mountain and looked out ... you know very well what I would see; brigands on the high road, pirates on the seas, in the amphitheaters men murdered to please the applauding crowds ... Yet in the midst of it, I have found a quiet and holy people ... They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians ... "  Yes, we all have our occasional "gardens" where reality is distant. The truth is, however, reality is where the difficult, the broken, the hurting, the tragic, the neglected, the unloved, the rebellious, and discouraged live ... and they are among us at every turn. Our fruitfulness as Christ’s followers should set us apart from the obnoxious, boastful, and demanding. To bear fruit is what we are called to do, gently and quietly bearing His Name in His Spirit. What a beautiful legacy to leave behind – quiet and holy.