By DAWN REED

Guest Columnist

“Josie pooped!” I can’t tell you how excited I was to get that text!

A little girl at church had been constipated for a week and it was killing her. For days she’d taken several medicines recommended by her pediatrician (fruit, juice, etc.) and even suppositories-for the love, but with no results. I had been praying for her and her family for days. When you’re stopped up, it’s just plain painful. It’s got to come out! Finally, at long last, everything came out-praise the Lord, again! I thanked the Lord, laughed out loud and then had a thought…

When we have sin in our lives, we need to deal with it and get rid of it as soon as possible! If we don’t, it will cause pain and suffering-and not just for ourselves, but for our families as well. A tiny jealousy, a bit of anger, or a small feeling of being slighted can dig deep into our hearts and set up infection. It builds and builds until it causes problems in other places. It’s got to come out! Or there will be pain and suffering! So many times in the Scripture it says to “get rid” of stuff! (Ephesians 3:41 is one.)

In Sunday School I asked if anyone had ever been constipated. I told them not to raise their hands but to give me “a look” if they had. Then we talked about the discomfort of being backed up and the lengths we have to go to get things going regularly. I told them about Josie. (I’ve prayed for some of their kids, too, for problems like that.) I also shared my thoughts on getting sin out ASAP and what happens when we don’t.

The next day, a friend mentioned to me that something was really starting to get under her skin. Someone had been driving through her yard and it was beginning to make her mad. (They keep an immaculate yard.) She was thinking about it all the time. “Why on earth would someone want to tear up their yard?” she wondered. They try to be nice to other people. They go to church. Who in the world would do this? She kept talking about it to her husband. She found herself hurrying to the window to see if anyone was there.

Without hesitation I said, “You’re getting constipated.” I caught her off guard. She didn’t speak, only listened. “You’re getting constipated in your heart. Those feelings of anger and frustration are getting backed up and it’s causing you pain and suffering,” I finished.

She admitted that she had been losing sleep worrying over it and was so angry that she wanted to put a board with nails in it right where they driving. We talked about her options. Praying for God to convict them was definitely on the list. (A “Jesus loves you” sign right where they keep driving was one suggestion.)

Do you remember the old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”? It was all about staying “regular”. That’s what fruit does! There’s stuff in it that keeps everything working as it should. So it also is with the fruit of the spirit! When you have that Fruit…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…it keeps everything going smoothly, too!

Is it any mystery why God tells us in His Word that we need fruit?! He doesn’t want us to be constipated!