A few thoughts before sleep

We attracted a lot of attention we traveled because we were poor and Jewish and my mother was handicapped. I was real conscious of that. Being Jewish and having a handicapped mother. I was ashamed of my mother, but see, love didn't come natural to me until I was a Christian.

I've recently started reading this book called The Color of Water by James McBride. It is just as the cover of the book says: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. Throughout the book, the author reflects on his own childhood; about his mom and his memories of not understanding why his mother was a different color. The rest of the book is in the voice of the mother, from an interview with her son many years later.

I was reading today at the Imax, and these few sentences really stuck out to me. These are the words of the mother, recalling her own childhood as a poor Jewish immigrant during the Great Depression. I'm not really sure why these words hit me so strongly. I think a lot of it has to do with my own recent study of the Fruits of the Spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Gal 5:22-23).
It is becoming more apparent to me lately that we can't show ANY of these fruits to people without the Spirit of Jesus Christ IN us. These qualities and attributes don't even come naturally to man without the help of God.

These words also remind me that it is only IN CHRIST that we are saved. The woman never felt that love came naturally to her UNTIL she became a Christian. Even as a believer in the Jewish faith, she wasn't able to show love to her own mother. Only in Christ was she able to truly love and feel compassion for her mother.

Glad I got that off my chest...now I can sleep.