Focus—choosing A Simple Phrase For Quick Recall - The Gentleness Challenge: a 7-Day devotional

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2, NIV)

I’m not really one for mantras. I prefer to let the words of Scripture do the talking in my brain. But sometimes, a paraphrase of a scriptural concept is helpful for when my mind feels too overloaded to remember anything more complicated.

Ephesians 4:2 says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (NIV). If that feels like too many words for your overwhelmed mom brain, I love the simplicity of the phrase “calm and kind.”

It’s the kind of quick reminder that’s easy to whisper under your breath throughout the day—when the toddler loses it after pouring cereal on himself, when a child to whom we struggle to give grace “pulls a stunt,” when two plus two simply will not equal four. When we’re “triggered,” simply chanting the words “calm and kind” can be the sanity-saver that brings us back to centered on God’s Word. “Completely humble” is a very high bar, my friends. Very high, indeed. Thanks be to God that He heaps on the grace when we come to Him in repentance.

ACTION STEPS:

• As you begin your day, ask God to give you a phrase (or use mine!) that you can repeat when you need a reminder of the mama you want to be, and then ask Him to give you the strength to focus on that truth rather than your frustration.
• Let your accountability partner(s) know what your phrase is.
• Ask them how you can best pray for them.