I was a single mother raising three teenagers when I met John, who had two young children of his own. After a two-year, long-distance relationship, we decided to get married, and John and I agreed that my kids and I would move halfway across the country to Kansas from our home in Seattle.<\/p>\n
I loved John, but I was anxious about the move. Nevertheless, we packed our things and began a new life in the plains. It wasn’t easy. The kids didn’t make new friends as quickly as I had promised them they would. And I missed my old house, friends, job and the familiar surroundings of the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n
Even God seemed far away. One dark, rainy day I poured my heart out to him: “Lord, please give me the fruits of the spirit, especially joy and peace.”<\/p>\n
It was then, as I prayed, that I thought about making bean soup. I wondered if I had any beans on hand. Mentally I went through my pantry and remembered a jar with layers of different colored beans that a friend had given me before I left Seattle.<\/p>\n
From the back of my cupboard I took out the jar, feeling another pang of homesickness. A hand-printed recipe hung from the lid on a piece of red yarn. I read it and dumped the beans into a pot to wash them. Then I saw something on the back of the card. My friend had matched the types of beans with eight virtues. “My family has used this recipe for generations,” she explained. As I read the list I recognized the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians:<\/p>\n
Pearl Barley\u2014Love<\/p>\n
Split Peas\u2014Joy<\/p>\n
Black Beans\u2014Peace<\/p>\n
Red Beans\u2014Patience<\/p>\n
Pinto Beans\u2014Kindness<\/p>\n
Navy Beans\u2014Goodness<\/p>\n
Lentils\u2014Gentleness<\/p>\n
Black-eyed Peas\u2014Self-control<\/p>\n
When my family gathered around the table in front of piping hot bowls, I told them about our Fruits of the Spirit soup. “God will help us make it here,” I said. And indeed we did. Soon enough the kids made new friends, and I found peace in my new home. But most important, I found that with faith you never move away from God, only closer. A nearly forgotten jar of beans reminded me of that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was a single mother raising three teenagers when I met John, who had two young children of his own. After a two-year, long-distance relationship, we decided to get married, and John and I agreed that my kids and I would move halfway across the country to Kansas from our home in Seattle. I loved […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[879],"class_list":["post-22462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-emotional-and-mental-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n