Fruit of the Spirit

In Christian's class the teacher sends home a "fruit of the Spirit" when the children demonstrate any of the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23.   When I picked Christian up from school today the first thing he said to me was,"I got a 'fruit of the Spirit' today and tomorrow I don't have to do any work!"  Now, I don't know if he was excited because he received the "fruit of the Spirit" or because he doesn't have to do any work at school tomorrow (which, by the way, I'm not sure he understood correctly and may be disappointed tomorrow when he does, in fact, have to do work at school...).  But it was satisfying to hear him speaking with such exuberance about getting this special reward.  He also received one on the 8th of September and I have to confess the first one came home with much less pomp.  When Mike and I took it out of his bag and looked at it we wondered if it meant he needed to work on these particular things (in the first case it was patience and self-control).  After today, it is clear that these are given at times when the "fruit" is exhibited in class.  I look forward to these character traits being developed in such a great atmosphere, where he is challenged and encouraged in a unique way this year.   And I love that Christian can see in a tangible way the result of his good choices and the work of the Holy Spirit.  I'll have to remember this for home too!