Catfish and Gentleness

Good Morning my dear friend!  How are you?

I am doing well :)  I have not written in a day or two and I thought I might catch up :)

We had our Pro Bass Tourney ;) that turned into a Pro Catfish Tourney.  I will post some pics from that in a bit...my computer is acting glitchy.  Suffice to say that we caught and filleted 84 catfish--it was a long day!

I also was working on a post about gentleness.  The Lord admonishes us to be gentle--in fact, it is listed among the rest of the "biggies" like love, faith, and self control.  But we never really talk about it in church much or on facebook or in Christian growth books.  The more I tried to write my post, the more I bogged down in "What does it really mean?  How do I actually do it?".    I know it does not mean to be weak, however, what is "weak" in our society is different from what is "weak" in the Lord.  What is strong in our society is different than what is strong in the Lord.  Both weak and strong are two ways we can put gentleness into a paradigm, but I will be honest, I am not sure, yet, how.

I know this--I love a gentle life.  I think that is part of my Pinterest love is that the photos I choose all seem to lean toward gentleness in life (and geeky stuff, but that is a different conversation :) ).  There is something life affirming and heart warming about quiet and stilled souls, about soft voices and delighted laughter, about feeling safe from cynicism or sarcasm or scorn (either your own or someone else's).  There is just something about nights by the fire in winter and days in the sun in summer.  There is something about the kindness of a stranger, forebearance from a friend, forgiveness from a loved one.

There is safety in gentleness, I think, for the heart and soul.  A person might be strong enough to protect someone else from a bear or an attacker, but might have a gentle disposition to soothe and protect the heart from discouragement and defensiveness.  I think it does not mean being weak in right and wrong, but being gentle with the wounds of the heart and spirit.

Or maybe it is allowing wrongs to be done to you, and showing kindness in return, to "heap burning coals upon the head" of the one who battles you.  Perhaps it is being a rock on the shoreline, beaten and pulled and pushed by the waves, but remaining still and smooth and steady.  Perhaps that is what brings people to repentance?  Or perhaps that is a different virtue and gentleness is about soothing and succor?

This is what I think, right now, as I try to puzzle it out, but I could be wrong.  What do you think?  Are you gentle?  If so, what does it look like in you (and do not be modest if the Lord has enabled you to get a grasp on this- we really need to know!)?  If you are not gentle, how do you KNOW you are not gentle?  What is it about gentleness that is hardest to grasp?

I think it is important we figure it out--the Lord has admonished us to it often in His Word!

I would love to hear from you.  Your thoughts are important to me!  Tell me, dear one, what does gentleness mean to you?  What about it is important to you?