Rosie

Rosie’s voice drifted forward from the back seat, “Mr. Connolly, why didn’t the frog have any bones?” I thought for a moment, and responded that I had no idea why the frog didn’t have any bones. A giggle preceded the squealed answer: “Because he was a donut!!!” Dumbfounded, I erupted in laughter even though I could not even remotely make the connection between an amphibian lacking a skeletal system and deep-fried dough.

The jokes always got lobbed around as we carpooled on the way to pre-school. None of the jokes from the booster seats made any sense, but it didn’t matter. I laughed and laughed, hamming it up, and the kids, especially Rosie, just beamed at the encouragement. Soon, whenever I would see Rosie outside of carpooling days, before saying “Hi”, she would start, “Mr. Connolly, what do you call . . . ” I was known to her as someone who laughed at her jokes.

What are you known for? We will all be remembered positively or negatively by the people we interact with because of something that we do or say. To help guide us in those interactions, Paul outlined the traits we should be exhibiting as the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).


As Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:20 NASB), and maybe Rosie knew me as someone kind enough to share a laugh with, no matter how ludicrous the answer was to “What did the pork chop say to the tree?” However, since I do interact with people, even some adults occasionally, I need to do a better job demonstrating the other fruits of the spirit. That way I might be known for more than laughing at a pre-schooler’s nonsensical jokes, and in so doing, bring credit and glory to Jesus.