Gentle and Humble in Heart
It is my pleasure to introduce you to Billie Kahler, our guest blogger for today! Chuck and I first met Billie and her husband at church in the hallway picking up our kids. Then later Billie and I were apart of the same writing group! It is always a joy to connect with a fellow writer, and my privilege to share her post with you today! Thank you for sharing your beautiful heart, Billie!
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| Billie and her husband, Mark |
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I sit with my coffee in hand while anticipating my day. It is my favorite time of the day. Not because I have a special affection for
mornings, but because it is the one time that I am able to savor 3 things I
love: coffee, quietness, and Jesus.
To be honest, there are times
that I am weary and spiritually apprehensive during these quiet moments with
God. I
know my heart’s true desire.
However, I also know that somewhere in my day the connection between my
desire to radiate Christ and what I actually do becomes distorted.
Jesus the most in my day.
I have not always had the ability to see Him in those
moments. Through trials and my own
brokenness, my walk with Him has deepened and matured. Perhaps, the best way to describe it is my
expectations have shifted.
have been something close to emulating His perfection. I had
the false expectation that I was walking with Him throughout my day ONLY if
my words were consistently encouraging, my reactions gentle, and my attitude righteous. The reality was that no matter how hard I
tried, I could not imitate these qualities 100% of the time. I felt defeated at the end of every day.
Recently, I had the opportunity to see Him in the midst of
my own chaos. I had come to my quiet
time weary (something that happens quite often
as a mother of four.) I found
this familiar passage:
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden
is light. Matthew 11:28-30.
Though I came to this passage to lighten my heart, what
jumped off the page at me was for I am
gentle and humble in heart.
gentle and humble with my children.
Gentleness often eludes me (which is
often why I feel weary and burdened.)
humble spirit today.”
my children (fancy terminology for yelled).
In the moments after my sin, I felt as though I was
graveling at His feet. But then His
spirit spoke to me. He reminded me of
His word….: “for I am gentle and humble
in heart.”
To humble myself before my child. To admit my wrong, ask for forgiveness and not bring up this child’s “sassiness”
that brought me to speak these “not so gentle words”.
very difficult to be truly humble before your child. At least it is for me. His constant nudging finally led me to seek
out the offended child and confess.
As I walked away, it took a few moments to connect His presence in this moment.
I was so busy focusing on how I missed the mark of
gentleness, that I almost missed how He was still present even though I fell
short. Again. .
that He is still working and walking with me during these imperfect moments.
Because of His grace, He allowed me to
display His humbleness. He did
answer my prayer to reflect Him…even if it was through my flawed humanity.
I will never obtain perfection in my words, actions and
attitude. Not on this side of
eternity. However, I can pray for eyes to see His hand being
outstretched to me in the moments that I stumble and fall. I can ask
for His redemption in my failing moments.
is walking with me in every moment of
every day.
3 thoughts on “Gentle and Humble in Heart”
Beautiful, Billie! I needed this reminder today! I lost my patience yesterday with my daughter and found myself apologizing. Gentle and humble… I love those goals!
Very touching, Billie!
Thanks so much Billie!! It's so great for us to admit our weaknesses to others. Lately I feel as though my weaknesses are outweighing my strengths. I certainly find comfort in hearing how other moms miss the mark too. I am grateful to be standing in His humble and gentle spirit with you!! Where else could I ever hope to be? Blessings and love!! Jenny M.