Gentle and Quiet Spirit

"A gentle and quiet spirit is not only imperishable; it is precious in the sight of God. It's also one of the hardest qualities to cultivate. Far from a sign of weakness, a gentle and quiet spirit is the sign of a woman who is strong in faith, mind and character."

-Anna Sofia & Elizabeth Botkin

This quote spoke to me this evening as I read it. So often I do not have that -- a gentle and quiet spirit. I get so busy and start thinking and acting in race mode. Emmy Xiang is also going through a phase where everything is a race. When we arrive home, she always wants to be the first one out of the car and wants to "beat you" to the door. This is a loud and oftentimes rough practice. Because she is rushing around trying to go faster than all the others, she is causing havoc and strife (well in me, anyways). I feel like too often my spirit portrays this same kind of fast-paced, hurried way of thinking. I get into the mindset of "I've gotta hurry because look at all that I've got to do" and my demeanor becomes rough, short and sloppy. I come across as anything but the Proverbs 31 woman God has given me as a model. May God grant me the grace to remember to stop, take a breath, and refocus my attention on maintaining that biblical womanly spirit which really is so much more beautiful than the woman the world promotes, boisterous, loud and unruly.