impression on me . She was speaking on the subject of “ How Does Your Garden Grow ?” and in delivering her message she referenced the fruit of the spirit .
She did the most wonderful thing by comparing the fruit of the spirit to real fruit , attributing certain characteristics fitting for those spiritual fruit found in Galatians to the fruit we really eat . The first fruit , of course , was LOVE . She picked up a huge watermelon , and everybody in the room uttered sounds of pleasant affirmation . “ Love ,” she said , “ is a watermelon .”
How perfect that analogy was for me . My pregnancies were expressions of the love I have for my husband and children and watermelon is what I ate the entire time . But the way Phyllis described it was even more symbolic .
She intimated how watermelon was one of the world ’ s largest fruit comparing it to the way love is one of the largest actions and emotions we should show as women of God . No wonder Galatians lists love as THE fruit of the spirit with other fruit spilling out as a direct result of the love we show . Love should be our biggest expression toward one another .
Next Phyllis pointed out that watermelon is a fruit we share . Though I am sure it ’ s possible , it is not likely that anyone would eat an entire watermelon themselves . My grandmother warned me about eating too much watermelon , “ It ’ ll make your stomach sick .” Likewise with us , too much self-love ( otherwise known as conceit , arrogance , self-absorption--you get the picture ) will not only make us sick , but could make other folks sick as well . Don ’ t you hate it when you get around a person who ’ s only in love with him or herself ? Ugh . Love , like watermelon , is meant to be shared with others . I remember distinctly hearing my aunt call people on the phone when she got a good watermelon , “ I got a watermelon over here . It ’ s good and sweet . Ya ’ ll come and get you some .” The house would soon fill up with friends and family . We would sit around on the porch talking and smacking on watermelon , spitting out the seeds into the yard .
The seeds were the key comparison in Phyllis ’ presentation . She said the watermelon had an enormous amount of seeds . What that means is that there are countless opportunities for the watermelon to reproduce itself in various places . One watermelon could feasibly yield hundreds of other watermelon . That is exactly what love should do in our lives . Your love should leave seeds behind that would cause more love to spring up everywhere , even in places you didn ’ t expect . Sometimes , you may not even see the place where your love seed is planted or even the fruit it produces . Nevertheless , just know , love does have countless seeds and if sown properly , the seeds should be popping up love blooms everywhere .
Your take-away ? It ’ s quite simple . Love is a watermelon . It ’ s big . It ’ s perfect for sharing . And it is full of seeds for sowing . Embrace your inner watermelon , share and sow .
DiAnne Malone is a book author , college professor and founder of Who ’ s That Lady Blog .