Gentleness

Dressed in Gentleness
The paragraphs below are from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

"Once in a while we meet a gentle person. Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness and roughness. We are encouraged to get things done and to get them done fast, even when people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment, and productivity count. But the cost is high. There is no place for gentleness in such a milieu.

Gentle is the one who does "not break the crushed reed, or snuff the faltering wick" (Matthew 12:20). Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force. Let's dress ourselves with gentleness. In our tough and often unbending world our gentleness can be a vivid reminder of the presence of God among us."



Reading the above Meditation brings to my mind all of my Sisters-In-Law.  I have seven of them and for this only child, what a blessing these gentle women are in my life.  They " tread lightly, listen carefully, look tenderly, and touch with reverence."  Being together is all too seldom.


When I was small I longed for a sister or brother.  It was not to be, so the 11 cousins nearer to my age on the street where I lived were my playmates. These cousins could be called gentle in spite of the fact that they were all boys.  I was accepted in my braids, and bib overalls; I dug wild onions, picked wild sweet peas, played marbles, one O cat, rode Aunt Muriel's milk cow calves, sledded down nearby small hills, and down larger ones on a tobbagan with these kind gentle boys.  My girl cousins lived on ranches and it was a great gift to spend time with them.  It still is so.