Gentle on My Mind

becky The other day at the dinner table, another wonderful Beckyism was uttered. Beckyism is the term I use for describing the comments, words, or opinions that belong to my seven-year old daughter Rebbeca. She was describing a surprise treat for dessert (A Klondike bar) to her older sister Sarah. The klondikedescription went like this. 

“It’s like a hotdog on a stick but with out the hotdog or the stick.”


Exactly. It reminds me of this quote.

“Nothing is so strong as gentleness, and nothing so gentle as true strength.”
Dag Hammarskjold


To me gentleness is not about being tame or weak, it’s about liberation. Freed to open our hearts towards our children and pour love into them. Through gentleness God’s fatherness is express through us, strengthening the dad muscle in us. This strength is fundamental to our leadership and what we lay on the shoulders of our children.

“Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. (30) For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:29-30


“Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.”
The Message Bible

We want our children to keep company with us don’t we? As we keep time with the Father’s heart, gentleness is a rhythm of grace we teach to our kids. On this journey our posture is firm, our stance strong but gentleness fruit recognizes the spirit of our children and how easy it is to crush. That knowledge should empower us with a different mindset, and a more powerful (gentle) show of force. That’s when His gentleness makes us great dads.

“Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holdeth me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.”
Psalm 18:35
Peace,
Jay

This is my entry into the One Word at a Time Blog Carnival, hosted by Bridget Chumbley. Check out the
other entries here: Gentleness.

Comments

jasonS said…
Once again, a great post. As I wrote my post on gentleness and read that definition, "free from harshness, sternness, and violence," I immediately thought of my kids. Though I've never been violent, I have at times been plenty harsh when I didn't have to be. I pray God's gentleness overtake me because like you said, I want my kids to keep company with me and I want them to see their Heavenly Father reflected in me.

I love your focus and your heart. Thanks, Jay.
Unknown said…
Jason,
Thanks again for your comments. Gentleness isn't "manly" according to the world standards but to God's it's huge!

Peace,
JC
Helen said…
JC Dude, you sound like an awesome Dad!
Unknown said…
Helen, thank you...I'm still learning!

Jay
Anonymous said…
Great and practical words of wisdom on gentleness. I love 'Beckyisms'... kids are great at coming up with the best sayings.

Thanks for this, Jay.
Unknown said…
Thanks Bridget...Becky always keeps me in stitches. BTW, I think I read and posted on all submissions on the Carnival Blog...whew, what a ride!

Jay
Maureen said…
Great how you opened this post to us.

The un-gentle stings and yet with effort can be forgotten and with heart, forgiven. Gentleness, though, is not forgotten and can carry us so very far.

Thank you for your wonderful comment on my poem. I can't answer the question you left, though, except to say I think it's a gift and I try to make the most of it.
Unknown said…
Maureen..it's a wonderful gift for sure!
Thanks for your kind words.

Jay
Monica Sharman said…
I so need this as a mother. Too much yelling in the past.
And those "unforced rhythms of grace"...still trying to figure that out!
Great Beckyism, by the way!
Wow -- great post. Great quote by your daughter. How beautiful to see the world through her eyes.

And thank you for visiting my blog as well and for your kind words!

Lovely to meet your gentle spirit.

Louise
hey...i liked ur blog..its great & full of knowledgeable stuff...keep it up...i think i will bcome ur follower..hope u get success in all walks of life...maybe u would like to visit my blog too.....

http://rishabhdidwania.blogspot.com/
Unknown said…
Monica and Louise...I appreciate you dropping by and leaving your insight and input. I really like feedback! Bless you both.

Rishabh...thanks to you as well. I'll drop by your blog soon!

Peace to you all!
Jay
Fatha Frank said…
Freedom. Great point. I think of the freedom of roaming wild and free and think of the imagery of breaking (or gentling) a horse Kevin gave at Shooting the Breeze. We should live our lives this way. Gentle. Free.
Unknown said…
Fatha Frank...indeed, it is for freedom sake that Christ has set us free...thanks for the comments!

Jay
Rich Dixon said…
This post was like smacking me in the head with clarity on the difference between gentle and weak--only without the smacking or the head. :-)

Guys have a hard time with this notion--I appreciate another guy's affirmation.
Unknown said…
Rich,
There was no head smacking because I already went through that with the Father ;-0..thanks for the comment bro'

Peace,
Jay
Unknown said…
Duane...thanks bro...I'll head on over to your new real estate!

Peace,
Jay
S. Etole said…
Your daughter has a good deal of wisdom ... and I know you left a comment for me yesterday but I found you here by "mistake" as none of your links took me here for some reason. It was a great find!
Unknown said…
S.Etole...thanks for the kind comments and I'm glad you found me!

Peace,
jay
Leigh said…
You've given me something to ponder, especially when it comes to defining true masculinity. Gentleness is indeed very rare these days. Thanks for the insight!
Unknown said…
Leigh...thanks for your kind words!
Peace,
Jay

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