The primary sign that a person is filled with the spirit is the fruit that shows up. It show’s what’s going on on the inside. It’s the natural outgrowth of character. You can see what’s going on in a persons life in their innermost being and character by the fruit that is manifest in their life. The fruit of the spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfullness, Gentleness and Self Control. (Gal 5:22-23)

The fruit will tell you what you are really full of….

Some days I’m not in showing the fruit of the spirit. I’m only human and I struggle with some of my own things that would steal my joy and my peace (life’s struggles), make me lose my patience and kindness (driving on the 405 fwy).

People sometimes say that you aren’t close to God if you lack the fruit or if you worry or are having negative thoughts. They say you need to stop it. There is a difference between processing and obsessing. Stopping it before processing it means stuffing it. While I believe you must not stay in space of negativity, doubt, worry or frustration, the problem with stopping it before you process it is stuffing it and eventually it comes out somewhere and usually not with a good result.

We have things that happen to us every single day. Growth through struggles creates victory and freedom.

Out of my most recent failures (see previous blog post on negotiating failure) came the realization that I have been “toiling” in my business. Proverbs 10:22 says The blessing of the Lord brings wealth , without painful toil for it.

Toil means work extremely hard or incessantly.”we toiled away” work hard, labor, exert oneself, slave (away), grind away, strive, work one’s fingers to the bone, put one’s nose to the grindstone; exhausting physical labor “a life of toil”

What that means to me is I’ve been going in circles for an extremely long time in my business not producing the outcomes I wanted. Somehow taking the time to look at the many recent failures that showed up in my life all at once, had me take the time to really look at them and see what I needed to do in my life to shift and change in order to snap out of the “Circle of Toil” as I’ve named it.

Had I simply brushed it off and gone on without looking at it, I would not have gained the insights I needed to make the shift in my life to move into a different space. As a result new clients, speaking engagements and other opportunities showed up the second half of the week and I no longer feel the Circle of Toil in my life. Simple but not easy.

I am one who is called to share my struggles and pain so others can see that it happens in life and the process to transform it by working through it then releasing it. I hope this has given you some insight into things in your own life.

Interested in a free Confidence Booster Session to see how you can work though some of your situations? Email me at Eldonna@thinklikeanegotiator.com and I will send you a link to my calendar for a free 30 minute call.