Blessed are the Weak

I was searching through Facebook the other day and came upon this little saying:

"Don't ever mistake my silence for ignorance,

my calmness for acceptance,

and my kindness for weakness."

I am a strong, silent type. I know that is a description that is normally associated with men, but that's really how I would describe myself.  Steady, calm, kind. The problem with being the strong, silent type is you are normally seen as uncaring, or unemotional, or worst of all, a ... well ... b-word.

Have you heard the expression, "still waters run deep"?  Well, my "waters" make the Mariana Trench look like a ditch. I may be still on the outside, but like an iceberg, there's much more underneath the surface.

I don't show my emotions very well except for one: anger. I can honestly say that when anger rears it's ugly head I can see why the b-word comes to mind. But it takes a lot to get me angry. I can shoulder a lot of grief, a lot of sadness, a lot of hassles, a lot of stress, before my calm facade finally cracks.

It's funny how one little saying can bring out so much emotion in one who is normally not emotional. These words ring in my ears as a window to my soul, or a warning to the enemy.

My silence is not ignorance. It is the calm reflection of what my reaction should be. It is a listening ear to hear all the facts before I make my decision as to how I should react. It is keeping my mouth shut so I don't say something I regret or make a fool out of myself. And just because I'm not calling you out on your actions, doesn't mean I'm not watching you and don't know what you are up to.

My calmness is not acceptance. It is an external facade. It is maintaining control of my emotions on the outside while I fall apart on the inside. Just because I'm not screaming at the top of my lungs, "YOU ARE WRONG," doesn't mean I accept what you have done to hurt me. My calmness is the illusion of strength, even though sometimes I would love to be weak. But I don't ever get to be weak. Or do I?

My kindness is not weakness. My kindness is what makes me human. My kindness is a hope that someone will see me being kind or be the benefactor of my kindness, and will pass it on to someone else. Kindness is so simple, yet it is something with which today's society seems to have a problem. Why is it so difficult for people to be kind to other people?  I think it's because they think it makes them look weak.

If being kind makes me look weak, then weak I will be.  Most of you have probably heard this verse from the Beatitudes in the bible: "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5) Maybe it should read, "Blessed are the weak, for they will inherit the earth."

We may look weak in your eyes, but in the Spirit of the Beatitudes, it is in weakness that we are made strong. It is in weakness that we show our humanness. It is in weakness that we strive for sanctification. And, most importantly, it is in weakness that we are brought closer to God.