A Gentle Spirit

I love my women's study Bible. More often than not, when I sit down with my coffee and this cutesy little brown-and-pink Bible with the magnetic flap-around snap, I find myself connecting with other women and God's word in ways I never thought I would.

Today, I'm reading about having "a gentle spirit." In case you haven't already guessed, it's from Phillipians 4:1-13. As a kid, we sang the song "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!" but I never knew the next verse (v. 5) Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Wow, how did I miss that one for 30 years? Lately, God has constantly been revealing to me parts of the Bible I either never knew about or just had overlooked and it's so exciting! Gentleness does not equal weakness. It diffuses anger and hostility. Or so the Bible says! I'm going to try this today at school. There is a cultural element that the Bible doesn't cover, however, and that is: how to deal with a child who has never received gentleness before. Some of my students do not receive kindness well, because they have never been shown it, and they actually ONLY respond when I yell. This has saddened me this year, to the point that I have reconsidered my venue - if I were able to work with kids in a different environment; outside of the classroom, maybe it would be different. But... that's neither here nor there for today. I'm going back to the gentleness thing; I'm going to stick to my TWO rules: Respect Yourself and Respect Others, and I'm going to model and demonstrate gentleness for my students to show them what it can be like.

Dear Jesus,
Please come over me today and shine through me. I know I do not actually have it in me to do what Your word has said to me today. My attitude is foul, my energy is drained, and my zeal is gone. But I know that You love these children, and I want to love them, too. Please wash me with Your loving kindness and Your spirit of gentleness so that every word that comes out of my mouth builds up a child and lets them know there is a Savior, even if I cannot say those words directly.

Lord, you know this is not my only prayer today. I pray for healing and peace for my friend. Hug her heart, Jesus; especially in the waiting time, and remind her that it will all be okay.

Thank You, Jesus, for allowing us the freedom to come to You, for giving us this gift of intercession that we may cry out to You at any time, at any hour, at any moment. Thank You for salvation, and for forgiveness.