The Strawberry Plant That Taught Me I Bear Fruit

“You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last…” –John 15:16a

I didn’t grow up in church, so as a fairly new, ignorant believer, I was badly in need of a mentor. I became a Christian at 20 and moved to the Midwest by 23, where God brought Doris Stickle into my life. Doris and I became acquainted at church, and she became a wonderful mentor and friend.

One powerful example of how God used Doris in my life was at a koinonia conference we both attended. Partway through the second afternoon, before a break, the pastor felt led to do a guided meditation asking us to focus on our favorite place, and then on specific objects in that place that God brought to mind. The Holy Spirit directed my focus onto a strawberry plant that I had seen growing in a clearing on land in the Colorado mountains.

Have you ever had the experience of not knowing something until you hear it coming out of your own mouth? When the pastor asked people to share what God had shown them, I stood and said, “A wild strawberry plant that bloomed and bore fruit whether anyone ever saw it or not, because that’s what God created it to do.” But during the break that followed, I said to Doris that I still didn’t understand what it meant – what God was trying to show me. She patiently and calmly talked about several key points made at the conference, and of conversations we’d had there; and then she gently but firmly said, “Joyce! God is trying to tell you that He sees you as a person who bears fruit.” And with the Holy Spirit confirming in my spirit (Roman 8:16) that what she was saying was true, I believed, for the first time, that it could be true about me.

There were countless times that Doris spoke truth, encouragement, correction, wisdom, and more into my life. She was a blessing beyond description. I remember her describing in later years that she pictured her role as being a rowboat or a ferry. Following God’s leading, with whomever He brought her way, she would help ‘ferry’ them from where they were to the next place of truth or growth or healing that God desired for them.

That beautiful picture of how she quietly but joyfully submitted to God and faithfully used her spiritual gifts to accomplish His purposes is both an example and a challenge for me. I’m long past being the ignorant new believer. But am I faithfully and deliberately using my spiritual gifts to accomplish God’s desired purposes for those He puts into my life? Am I sharing that same truth, encouragement, correction, and wisdom, etc.? Am I seeing the opportunities God is putting in my path, and choosing to be His channel of blessing and growth for others? What about you?

Ephesians 4 talks about the gifts God gives us to equip the saints for the work of ministry, “until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” (vs. 12- 13). Doris had a deep, powerful, lasting impact on my life, and so many others’ lives. May we all be mindful of faithfully using whatever spiritual gifts God gave us for the good of those around us, in whatever way He leads.

Lord, thank you for the people you have put into our lives who bring your truth, love, wisdom, and encouragement to us. Thank you for all the ways you use each one of us and our gifts to help build up one another in the body of Christ, and to draw those who don’t yet know you to your Kingdom. Help us to see and use all the opportunities you bring our way, trusting You for the transforming work of your Holy Spirit. Amen

Joyce Gale
Church Member