Gentle

Gentle

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

“I’M NEVER GOING TO BE that sweet, soft-spoken grandma who bakes cookies, am I?” Asking the question with a sigh, I reached around Aaron to tuck a glass away as we unloaded the dishwasher. I had been a bit too honest when asked my opinion in a phone call that afternoon, and I regretted my lack of tact.

“No.” A slight smirk tugged at his lips as he agreed with my assessment. “But I love my Mack Truck wife.”

My mom teasingly calls me a Mack Truck because, like those heavy-duty vehicles, I tend to plow directly forward when faced with a situation that needs solving, rather than delicately dancing around the topic and allowing others to arrive to the same conclusion at their own pace.

God created us with a unique blend of traits, but he calls us to gentleness regardless of whether it’s a natural inclination of ours or not. I am learning that my strengths are also my weaknesses if taken in too big a dose or applied with too heavy a hand. If I am not careful, I can run right over those who are quieter than me, those who need more time to process information, those who communicate in less direct methods. If I’m not careful, I miss out on the excellent offerings of others when I am not gentle.

Being gentle is not about denying our God-breathed giftings, but we might need to slow down and sit still, encouraging others to speak up and share their opinions. It requires us to see others, to listen carefully to what they have to say without jumping in with a response. It often means laying down our rights. We are commanded to exercise gentleness precisely because it is countercultural and hard, but we create opportunity and space for those around us to flourish when we walk in gentleness.

Lord, reveal what gentle means for each one of us today and this week. Help us decrease so those around us are heard and seen. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: Practice listening more than you talk today. Start by using questions to keep the conversation going rather than sharing your thoughts or your stories.