Dear Fruits

Alright-this post is going to be full of a lot of random thoughts.

Lets hope they are organized is some semblance of logic so they can be understood.


Some time ago I was trying to make some decisions about the circle of friends I was going to put myself in.

I had been hanging out with one group for several months...but it was beginning to wear on me.
They were not exactly the most uplifting crowd.
I wanted to leave. But we all know that leaving a group of friends is NEVER easy.
Being who I am, I of course, called my parents for their advice.


My dad gave me some advice that still sticks with me today. He said "Stephanie, by their fruits ye shall know them" (haha my dad would quote scripture when giving me advice! LOVE LOVE)


So I thought about their "fruits" What had they done, what had they created.

In this case I had a perfect comparison, as I also had a second group of friends.

I thought of various interactions I had had with each group.
The more I thought about it, the more striking the difference became.

Now, of course, I have to throw in these observations are my PERCEPTIONS. Perceptions and intent are two very different things. (I should prolly do a post about that sometime hahaha)

The fruits of one: building me up, letting me know they appreciated and loved me, supporting me in everything I did, giving me a shoulder to cry on, an ear to vent to, and a hand to hold. They were there for me whether I was happy or sad. They didn't care which, they just wanted to be with me.

The fruits of the other: tearing me down, making me feel unloved and unwanted, constant badgering and teasing and rarely supportive. And I felt like I could only be one person around them-happy go-lucky and all-put-together.


It wasn't that the one group was better than the other (well maybe they were haha)
But it was mostly that one group was better for me.

One group tried to show their apparent affection through seemingly harmless teasing and badgering.
The other said "do what you do".

So who do you think I perceived more love from????


So moral of the story. By your fruits people will come to know you. What you create is more important than individual actions. But added up actions is what you create.
So be aware of what your actions are creating.
And make it good.
It might not be easy-and I certainly could work on this too.
So lets do it together ok??