Confirmation

Yesterday I was honored to be a confirmation sponsor for a nice young woman from our church. It was a special ceremony where a young adult reaffirms their baptismal vows and receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Now the quiz part, who can name the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit?

These gifts are:
Wisdom
Understanding
Counsel(Right Judgement)
Fortitude(Courage)
Knowledge
Piety
Fear of the Lord

As I sat and listened to the Bishop reflect on these gifts and what they were going to mean in their life, I couldn't help but look back on my life so far and contemplate what the gifts have meant to me.
I guess the one I really struggle with is the understanding. When I take some of my life's biggest struggles and try to understand, that is when I feel I understand the least. But if you look up understanding as a gift of the Holy Spirit, it is not understanding my own life, but understanding how I need to live as a follower of Christ. Wisdom is not about being smart, but about seeing the work of God in our lives. Fortitude is about having the courage to stand up for God in our lives. These are the gift given to us by the spirit and once we have these gifts we will be able to celebrate the fruits of the spirit. These are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity. I know I have received some of these fruits, so I deduce that I do have the gifts. I also know that it is something that I have to work on in my life on a daily basis but the reward is great.