Fruit for thought

I noticed recently while in the shower that I use a lot of fruit scented products.
My shampoo and conditioner smell like Passion Fruit
Face wash~ Orange Burst
Facial scrub~ Apricot
Body wash~ Coconut
Bubble bath~ Grapefruit
Body Lotion~ Cocoa Butter or Warm vanilla Sugar in the Winter
and Tangerine or Coconut Lime in the Summer
Body Spray~Grapefruit Lemongrass or Plum(something or other) from Dove
Deodorant~Tropical Paradise from Suave which smells like Coconut and Pineapple
Bath Powder~No scent but made with cornstarch
Hand Soap-Bathroom~Pumpkin Spice
Hand Soap-Kitchen~Orange Tangerine or Lemon Burst
Even the Lysol Spray that I buy is scented Orange citrus or Lemon
The candles I'm burning right now are Pumpkin spice and Spiced Pear

I'm not sure why I love these scents so much but they make me happy.
Considering the fact that I hate to eat fruit it don't make much sense.

So here's where I'll throw in the Jesus thing today-
You know that Fruit of the Spirit quote from the Bible-

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 

faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23English Standard Version 

The following is what that same passage looks like from The Message-

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.      Galatians 5:22-23The Message (MSG)

Isn't that beautiful? I love the way Eugene Petersen interpreted that passage.

And I love that God has lately been bringing more of those things into my life.

Affection for others, exuberance for life, serenity.

On a sad note...another friend has been diagnosed with cancer.

This time it is colon cancer with "spots" seen on chest and liver x-rays.

Shit.

She's 44, married with 2 kids.

I wanted to send her via Facebook a poem or a Bible quote or something of the like-

The kind that says stay strong...God's got this.

But I felt like that wasn't true. I don't believe God's got this. 

I don't believe God had anything to do with this.

The God I pray to doesn't give people cancer.

He may heal them...but sometimes He heals them on the other side.

I'm not implying that I think she will succumb to cancer.

I don't know what will happen.

But I am praying for her every time I think about her,

which is to say that I keep praying for her all day long.

Anyway...all the quotes were wrong, stupid, trite.

Where's the cutsey Pinterest quote with flowers and smiley faces that says
F*** You cancer?

And how would that make her feel better? Or loved? Or prayed for??

What I found was a singer named Lauren Daigle on Youtube.

She's fairly new to the Christian singing artist scene. To me she sounds a lot like Adele.

Her cover song for You Make Me Brave was exactly what I wanted for my friend. 

It said exactly what I wanted her to know about God and being brave through this time in her life.

So I sent it to her in a private FB message, only it didn't go private. It went to my public FB page.

I started to take it down, started to hit the delete button but I stopped.

Maybe the words of this song would be just the thing that somebody else needed hear.

Maybe if other people heard this song and saw who I had dedicated it to, 

maybe they would or could pray for my friend too.

"...A basic holiness permeate things and people..."

Her name is Amy. She is a beautiful person in every single way possible. 

And she is all of these things-

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithful, gentle and self-controlled.

Would you help me pray for her today?

Would you light your candles no matter the scent and help me pray for my friend?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEbhCEks2Jo