Hello Friend!
I love to be around gentleness. It warms my heart to be in a store and overhear a mom or dad lovingly explaining something to their inquisitive child.
While there are times that strong/harsh words are necessary, I feel like they should be used as a last resort. I don’t like all the stress and tension that travel with harsh words. It can cloud a room.
It can cloud a life.
It is easy to poke back when someone is trying to rile you up, so it is important to have control over your emotional responses. There are people who just love to cause a stir with their words. And if you poke people just for fun, I am not sure we will be friends.
Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit!
Think about your method of correction and conversation. Are you intense? Are you calming? Are you harsh? Are you gentle?
Love,
Liz
prayerpointsbyliz 
Am I calming, harsh, gentle, kind? Depends on the situation, I can and am all four. I would love to say I am kind, calm ,gentle at all times. From what I read of My Lord and Savior He was all of this and more. I want to be just like Him. Sadly this isn’t always the case. I am human with tons of limitations that I need to overcome with His help. There are times when I need to include boundaries towards other people who don’t recognize their own limitations or obnoxiou behaviors. Sadly I have found if I don’t establish boundaries or if they are not kept I lash out. I left nursing to become a Biology teacher, a better calling for me and one I can work with my hearing loss. In teaching you learn to establish boundaries FAST. There is a lot of rude behavior now and it reflects in both students and adults who should know better. There is an underlying attitude “I am paying for it I am intitled to….” So you learn quickly to develope “The drivel detector” and the stare that goes with it. Kind, gentle? Only to others who are also affected by the rudeness, meanness, thoughtless behavior of others. I was amazing to me after working outside the classroom for years how thoughtless people are. This included the scholastic administrators. I was known for shaking my head and saying” Just how far do you think the outside community will tolerate that behavior? Why do you think people get beaten up, shot at, run over by cars? I’ve seen the results and they are not pretty.” (I worked Emergency Department for years.) Maybe I was kind to bring up a dose of reality. In my everyday life I try very hard and sadly fail sometimes, to be kind, use gentle words and actions, be thoughtful to others. When others are not towards me, I turn cold. The “Drivel Detector” turns on. The stare ensues. I am not quick with a fast retort. but am known for to reply with polite words that are delivered in a cold, flat voice. The boundaries are up. People who realize they are over the line sometimes change their behavior. Sometimes they don’t. When that happens I try to avoid them at all cost. Its not worth dealing with obnoxious people, they probably have underlying psychological pathologies. I am not nor ever will be a psychologist, even though I have had to deal with that type of behavior professionally. It tiring, frustrating and fruitless. I don’t bother, I have more targets to aim for than trying to please everybody. I try to remember to listen to the Gospel and improve myself. I can only run my own race, no one else’s. Be kind towards me and its easy to be kind back. Impatient, rude, crass.. well go right ahead. Like my new pastor says” If you belittle,are rude, thoughtless then you are rude thoughtless and LITTLE. so work to be big, kind compassionate in the Lord’s eyes.” An old friend from years ago always said “Being of a kind nature doesn’t mean weak, it is a sign of strength.” His name was Father Francis Kelly, a wise,kind, gentle, good friend to all. And in his broad Irish brogue he used to say “… boundaries are fences that make for good neighbors in life,just don’t jump them, you’ll find a dangerous pile of rocks on the other side” I think they are both right, living as a kind person is so much more joyous in life.