Love, Affection and Parameters!
By Katherine Kehler

"But the fruit of the spirit is ............self control." Galatians 5:22

"I wanna hug Bobbi" Tia said.

Tia is my two-year-old granddaughter and she is totally fearless. Bobbi is our 8-month-old Saddlebred foal. She is tiny and he is real tall. Both of them are young, affectionate and unafraid. As she leaned her head on the colt's neck, Bobbi responded by nuzzling her neck. Tia's older sister Mercedes was gently petting the neck of the foal's mother.

Children and horses alike respond to gentleness and affection, but they both need a firm hand once in a while. Tia wanted to walk into the field with the horses. I had to firmly explain to her that it was very dangerous--the foal might run over her.

Then Tia decided it was time to go see Mommy. She was half way down the driveway before I noticed. I couldn't call, "Tia, come back here," because I knew she would run away from me toward the highway, so I began asking questions and she stopped and listened. I caught up to her and carried her to the house explaining that going to the road was very dangerous. Children need love, affection and guidance and parameters.

Women respond to love and gentleness, but we too, need parameters. Many times the satisfaction of momentary pleasures can be tempting, the but results can be devastating. God has set up boundaries in His word because He loves us. They are there to keep us safe. Practicing self-control means saying "No" to the things that God says "No" to. God's rules are for our benefit. We can follow them fearlessly.

Father, fill us with your Holy Spirit and you will produce "self control" in our hearts. Amen

About the Author

As a grandmother, Katherine J. Kehler founded the Internet ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, Canada, starting web sites like http://www.christianwomentoday.com and http://www.retirementwithapurpose.com.