I looked at my suitcase jammed full of mine and Aspen’s  clothes.  I still needed to add  my cosmetic bag as well as a couple pairs of shoes and the blow dryer.  Sensing that I would never get the suitcase to close, I finally decided to run downstairs and get a slightly bigger suitcase.  This time I looked at the packing from a different angle.   I usually pack the night before we leave. I start by putting in the clothes first and then add the other stuff as I finish packing in the morning.  But now that I had everything to put into a different suitcase all at one time I decided I had been going at it backwards.  What I needed to do was put the bigger, less compactable stuff in first, then I could pack the softer clothes around it.  When I looked at the newly packed suitcase where every thing now just naturally fit in I felt so stupid for packing the hard way for so many years.

When it comes to my spiritual life there are a few important things that should go first before I bother with the other things.  If I put the important things in first the other things will naturally fit into my life.  When I put God’s will for my life first and let the Holy Spirit influence my life then the other things like the fruits of the spirit just naturally happen and fit in.  I can not have the fruits of the spirit without the influence of the Holy Spirit working it’s changes in my life.