By Wangari Murathe

“And the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self- control. Against such things there is no law”. Galatians 5:22-23

One day I woke up feeling a bit low. I was pondering the poor state of my finances which I had been praying about for quite some time. My mood did not lift even as I went to work. Just before I crossed the street to my office, the lady in front of me fainted. One second she was holding onto a parked car, and in the next she had fallen down, her bag and parcel flying into different directions. I instinctively picked her belongings while two gentlemen among the crowd that was beginning to gather, carried her from the road to the sidewalk, away from the speeding traffic. She appeared to be having an epileptic fit, and we laid her down on an elevated position to wait for her fit to pass. I searched in her bag and got her cell phone so as to reach somebody she knew. However, it required a password to operate. Her note book did not assist either.

It was taking too long for her to come to.  A young lady came forward to say that she had called for a taxi. The crowd helped put the unconscious lady into the back seat of the taxi and the young lady entered with her, cradling her head on her lap. I sat in the front passenger seat of the taxi as we took her to the hospital. After a few minutes of first aid in the Hospital’s Casualty, she regained consciousness. She told us that she was a diabetic and her blood sugar level must have gone too low. She was able to give us her cell phone’s password and we called the husband.

On the way back to town with the young lady, she told me that a few years back, a stranger had taken her to hospital after she was involved in a road accident. She had therefore purposed to always help other strangers as a way of passing on the kindness shown to her.

I arrived at work quite late but noticed that my mood had lifted. A feeling of great joy and gladness filled my heart. I had become a “Good Samaritan” and could imagine Jesus smiling down on me.

I learnt many lessons that day. I was reminded that life is fleeting and that I should praise God because He has already blessed me with many things I can use to serve Him.

I was reminded that money does not really make one happy. There is great joy that surpasses all understanding which comes from the Lord, especially when we follow his example of showing love to others without expecting a reward. When we are led by the spirit, our earthly circumstances do not matter and we are led to wait upon the Lord.

I also learnt that unless my faith is accompanied by good deeds, it will be self serving and empty. Works justify our faith. “…faith by itself if not accompanied by works is dead.” James 2:16.

Good works fuelled by love are our greatest testimony. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”.  John 13:35

Our mission in life is to grow spiritually and become more like Jesus. To do this we need to be transformed by acquiring the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit namely; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self- control. God always puts opportunities in our way to help us grow towards this maturity as Christians. I realized that day that I got a very good opportunity, and I pray that I do not miss others that come my way.

Copyright Wangari Murathe and WOMAN OF FAITH, 2011. All rights reserved. Articles by author also available at faithwriters.com .

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