XLII.
ON BEING GENTLE UNDER STRESS
(4/26)
Let your gentleness be known to everyone. God is near. (Philippians 4:5)
It goes without saying that the pandemic has turned our world upside down, especially among our children and persons living with disabilities and poverty. Many of us are more impatient than usual. We may yell at the television, a slow computer, or a spouse or child. Even our companion animals may bear the brunt of our impatience.
The philosopher Nietzshe asserted that we need to be worthy of our sufferings. That is, while we may be off kilter and need to blow off steam given our current situation, still we need to seek to be our best selves, to follow the better angels of our nature.
Gentleness, as Paul notes, is a relational virtue. It is the virtue of pausing a moment before we criticize or snap at those around us. It is the virtue of the kind word, the understanding comment, the caring response. Gentleness seeks peace, even when we must challenge another’s assumptions or behavior. It is speaking the truth with love.
Let us be gentle also with ourselves. We are under stress, we are grieving losses of freedom and future possibilities, we are anxious. We need to remember that these can undermine our overall wellness. Accordingly, we need to give ourselves grace when we are impatient, make a mistake, get angry, or feel depressed. At such moments, remember God loves you. God’s grace abounds in your life. You can be fully human in all your imperfect beauty, and you are loved.
Reach out if you feel overly stressed or impatient. Your pastors and spiritual companions are here for you. Dear friends can embrace you emotionally. You are accepted, happy or sad, grumpy or friendly. Let God’s gentle love invite you to experience grace and be graceful to others.
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Loving God, help us to be gentle with others, give us a kind word to say, and help us to accept your gentle grace that embraces us moment by moment and into eternity. Amen.
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