Patient and gentle

Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Christ was often presenting a message of love among the people. Here the apostle follows up with that message saying we should remain humble before others; we must present ourselves in a gentle manner; we must be patient and we should do all of this with the love of others in mind.

My mother, brother, and I lived with my mother’s parents growing up. My mother was a single mom trying to support two boys and the only way for her to make it was to share expenses with my grandparents.

The house might have been a little tight. It was a 1958 house, ranch style, with 2 bedrooms. We had 3 adults and two young boys living in this house built for a small family. Yet it never seemed to faze either of my grandparents.

My grandfather in particular was a very gentle and patient man. I can remember a day where my brother put on a pot of oil on the stove because he wanted to cook some French fries. It’s the way you did it back then, because there were not any French frying machines. To make the story short we left the house to pick up some fried chicken from Maryland’s Fried Chicken without my younger brother telling me about the oil on the stove. We returned with the chicken just as my grandfather was arriving home from work. Walking in together we noticed smoke and the reflections of a fire coming from the kitchen.

This is where I really saw my grandfather’s patience at work. He slowly removed the burning pot, took it outdoors and extinguished the flame. Then he quietly went and retrieved his ladder, a bucket and sponge. He filled the bucket with warm soapy water and started to wipe down the smoke blackened walls and cabinets of the kitchen.

My grandfather never fussed at my brother, but instead said it was an accident. He stayed calm the entire time just wiping down the walls to remove the soot. And he did it all with a gentle attitude.

This is how we are supposed to live among each other.  Instead of reacting with anger, we should react with understanding. Instead of making a bigger matter of it, we clean up the mess. And most of all show the grace and mercy of love, as my grandfather did, by telling us it was all ok and things would be fine.