Measuring your year by the fruits of the spirit

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Measuring your year by the fruits of the spirit

The Quiet Review

It’s year end. It’s the month when the “year-end panic” truly sets in.

The year is drawing to a close. A new one is on the horizon. We see the posts start to appear. People share their “year in review.” They list their big wins. They showcase their achievements.

When I read this, I want to run away. I want to run far away.

The questions start. You begin to doubt yourself. You ask: “What did I really do this year?”

In the same breath, you say to yourself: “I can’t believe it’s the end of the year.”

This opens up more questions.

The Trap of Comparison

We do this thing. We scroll. We compare.

Suddenly, our quiet, steady, ordinary faithfulness feels like absolutely nothing.

My Challenge to You

I want to invite you to a different kind of year-end review.

It is a quiet one. It is just between you and God. No one else is invited.

Take a moment with Him.

What if “success” this year wasn’t measured in loud, public achievements? What if it was measured in quiet, unseen growth?

What if the real “wins” were not on your resume? What if they were the “fruit of the Spirit” that God has been softly growing in you?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Galatians 5:22-23

Measuring the Unseen

What if you measured your year in your new-found patience? What if you measured it in your kindness to yourself? What if you measured it in the moments of faithfulness?

Think of the times you just kept showing up. You showed up even when it was hard.

Answering these questions for myself had a huge impact. It changed how I perceived this year.

I could see how much I have grown in my faith. I noticed I listened more. I noticed more. I was more accountable with my actions.

Journaling did this for me.

I want you to take your journal. Create your list of growth. Look back. See the true work that happened between yourself and God.

yOUR pROMPTS

Prompts for the “Unseen” Review

Use these prompts to find the fruit.

  • A Moment of Patience: “When was I patient this year? Was I patient with a difficult person? Was I patient with my own slow progress?”
  • A Moment of Kindness: “When was I kind? (This absolutely includes kindness to yourself!)”
  • A Moment of Faithfulness: “When did I just keep showing up? When did I keep going in my faith? When did I keep going for my family? Even when I was tired. Even when I didn’t feel like it.”
  • A Moment of Self-Control: “When did I hold my ‘quiet no’? When did I pause instead of reacting?”
  • A Moment of Grace: “When did I feel God’s grace or peace in a quiet, unseen way? (This is the biggest ‘win’ of all.)”

yOUR ACTION POINT

Your Action Point: The “Unseen Wins” Jar

We need to capture these moments.

  1. Find a small, empty jar or box.
  2. Take 5-10 small slips of paper.
  3. Reflect. Based on your journal reflections, write down your “unseen wins” from this year.
    • “I was kind to myself in my sad season.”
    • “I learned to set a boundary.”
    • “I prayed in the chaos.”
    • “I was a good listener for a friend.”
  4. Fold them. Put them in the jar.

When you see all the to-do lists coming at you. When you see the big wins on social media.

Stop.

Read one of your notes. Remind yourself of the real, quiet, profound growth that God sees in you.

With care, Debbera