Gentleness

To be gentle means to be kind, tender and not harsh.It tells us in Philippians 4:5 "Let your gentleness be evident to all". I want to be a gentle person. I want to meet people with kindness, but I admit that I fall short in that area sometimes.

It seems that sometimes the ones that I love most are the ones who get the least from me. Am I alone in that? Please tell me that I am not the only one that feels I fall short in giving my loved ones the best of me.... I feel so bad when I give my family less than the gentle and kind side of me, when they get the frustrated and tired me. They are the ones that I want to treat the best and to be honest, that is not always what they get.

It isn't strange that sometimes we treat strangers better than we treat our own family or loved ones? I can be upset at my child or husband for something so miniscule and then a stranger does or says something rude, apologizes and all is well. Why do I do that? My family sees that! That is not what I want them to see, that I can forgive and forget a stranger's actions before I can do that for them. I want them to know and feel that I love them and that they are valuable to me. I want to teach my children to be gentle and gracious by my actions towards them and others, not give them mixed signals.

I have seen how true Proverbs 15:1 is when it tell us that "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger". If one person in a heated situation keeps their cool, it usually helps to dissipate the problem. However, if all parties are angry and argumentative, then things can heat up really fast. Have you noticed how someone can be so grumpy and if you are kind to them their attitude will change. It is really hard to be angry and mean to someone who is smiling and gentle back at you.

I have found that there are certain people I know that I have a hard time being gentle with. I am not mean to them, but just can't be relaxed and as open as I am to others. Those people can walk in a room and I tense up, this bothers me. I wish I understood why that is and what causes that. I don't have the answer to that, but I have decided that the best way for me to fix it is through prayer. I am committing to be in prayer this week for those people and for my heart towards them. I will also pray for God to make my heart softer and gentler towards them.

It is pretty clear how God wants us to be in Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you". That is the woman that I want to be, I want to see people through the eyes of Christ and love them as he loves us. I don't want a hard heart, I want a soft heart. And I want to be gentle to the ones I love, the ones I don't know and the ones that drive me crazy.

I am thankful that the Lord is an ever-loving God and doesn't give up on me. I pray that I can be as gracious and merciful to others as he is to me and to have a gentle and kind heart that is evident to all.