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God has a cornucopia,
Filled…to overflowing;
Fruit of all sizes, shapes, and colors,
In His garden…growing.

LOVE must surely be an apple,
We're the apple of His eye;
Round and red…so delicious,
We need this LOVE to unify.

JOY is often said to be,
Jesus, Others…You;
Grapes of all colors…that must be,
His JOY, spread out to many…not the few.

PEACE can only be a peach,
Cool and calmness…showing;
When we bite into this peach,
His PEACE…the world not knowing.

LONGSUFFERING is surely needed,
A banana it must be;
LONGSUFFERING…with patience, we must endure,
If, the Kingdom we shall see.

KINDNESS…needed everywhere,
A pear surely fills that need;
Succulent, juicy and sweet,
KINDNESS, in every deed.

GOODNESS is a plum,
Picked when soft and mellow;
This GOODNESS reaches out,
Helping each and every fellow.

FAITHFULNESS must be far-reaching,
A pomegranate…it has many seeds;
The faith of the Son of God, we ask for,
His FAITHFULNESS goes out…meets every need.

GENTLENESS is a kiwi fruit,
Its skin is paper-thin;
So soft and green…on the inside,
Only with GENTLENESS, shall we eat the fruit within.

SELF-CONTROL would be a coconut,
Hard-shelled on the outside;
Within…enough to feed the hungry…satisfy the thirst,
SELF-CONTROL, when seen by others…cannot be denied.

Nine "Fruit of the Spirit",
Given to the Church;
These manifestations of His Spirit,
In God's people…no need to search.

His Fruit clearly present,
In the things we say and do;
Let's expect a rich harvest,
He wants to make all things new.

We'll go out into His garden,
Partake of what He's planted there;
You…from me…will take an apple,
I…from you…shall take a pear.

In this way we'll be His helpers,
His Fruit…freely giving out;
And, they'll say with great certainty,
God's business, we have been about.

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Sept. 3, 2000

Aimee Love
(LHG)