Commandment to Love Series: Practice patience, kindness and gentleness to myself

COMMANDMENT TO LOVE SERIES.

 

Practice patience, kindness and gentleness to myself
 

My commandment to love series over the next 10-12 weeks focuses on how I can love myself in a practical manner this week and keep the commandment to love.

 

In this series I will focus on one idea that we can use in whatever it suits to accomplish a more rounded version of ' as yourself'.  I hope you will journey with me in this series.

 

So my sixth intention for feeling good about myself this week is as follows:

 

 This week I will practice being patient, kind and gentle with myself.

 

 

How will make my intention tangible?  There are endless ways just as we are all unique.

However, as a starting point, I will first 

• spend some prayerful reflection time with God to consider how God sees patience, kindness and gentleness. I will consult with scripture as a special guide.
• Re-read my 'positive list about me' each day in my prayer time and add at least one extra positive each day.
• Affirm each day that I am able to be patient, kind and gentle with myself because it is the loving thing to do for myself.
• write down any opinions that I have both positive and negative about patience, kindness and gentleness 
• Seek God's forgiveness in the sacrament of Reconciliation for the times I have not been patient, kind and gentle with myself.
• Thank God for the times I have been patient, kind and gentle with myself since it is only possible because God has made it so.

Why do I want to do this?  I want to make progress with this sixth intention because: I want to keep the commandment to love more fully. Practicing this commandment means that I love myself as God loves me. Accepting that I need to be patient, kind and gentle with myself shows that I have the desire to love myself more fully, and in loving myself I will in turn be patient, kind and gentle with others.   

 

Remembering that I desire to be perfect just as my Heavenly Father is perfect is a worthwhile goal. I also need to be realistic and remember that I am in the process and at times, I fail to love myself as God loves me. When I fail to love myself, I need to explore why this is so, but I need to remember God loves me. He sees and knows me and loves me for who I am. God is ready to forgive me, but am I ready to forgive myself?

 

Let us keep the commandment to love 'as yourself’ by practising to be patient, kind and gentle with ourselves.

 

Let God who is patience, kindness and gentleness be our teacher.