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.
- from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.
I love this. When I think of someone who practices gentleness well, I think of my Uncle Ken. He is a farmer. His hands are rough and his skin is weathered but his voice is gentle. He isn't the first to speak and you won't hear him if you're in a crowd but I'm certain you'll notice the gentleness that seeps out of him. The way he "treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly..." I think it's the farm that made him that way. He's wonderful and I'm so glad he's my uncle.
