I wrote these lines as part of a poem last March and they keep returning to me as the Lord invites me to new layers of gentleness. I see how my gentleness towards myself runs out quickly. It only feels enough for a few bad moments before I’m harsh with myself again.
Be gentler, even gentler, the whisper comes.
The Lord speaks to my heart here—
There’s so much space for how tender you are. There’s all the time in the world for you.
Be gentle as I am gentle. I do not scold you when you bump into your humanity. I come tenderly, speaking softly.
You’ve been taught shame and biting words to keep yourself in line. You’ve pulled your bootstraps time after time. But you feel how this no longer works. You long for gentleness even as you struggle to receive it.
I am patient as you learn my gentle ways. I am glad to be with you in your tender places.
PS. I also had the privilege to read it at the end of my podcast episode with Jodi Grubbs in November, if you’d like to listen to the whole poem instead of reading it.
Alison L Bradley 