A few days ago I was told that my car needed a new drive belt. Because I know nothing about cars, I took it to a friend of Henry Loftin's. This friend worked at DBU in a building called the Stables, where the DBU fleet of vehicles are maintained. I parked, stepped out of the car and headed to the building. All was well until I saw the ground coming up to meet me. Ouch! Painfully I got to my feet and saw that I had tripped over the prongs of a forklift. Being male, I hid my limp and smiled the rest of the way to the shop.

A week of relying on others for transportation and a few hundred dollars later, I finally got my car back. A day of driving it around made me happy. A night of turning the key only to hear a high-pitched whine made me sad. "What on earth? It was working fine," I said to myself. "what could be wrong now?"

I parked my car outside the Stables and walked up to the building once again, frustration before me. In a matter of moments, I forgot my frustration as, once again, the ground came up to meet me. Ouch! I had tripped over the same forklift. I took a deep breath and sat down. I adjusted my flip-flops, jeans and attitude before seeing if Henry's friend was in. (He wasn't; it was late at night.)

Every year Glowing Heart receives some material with which we go over the Disciple Now students with. Last year, the material was over the topic of spiritual warfare. This year it's titled "Taking the Risk." One of the questions in the first lesson asks, "If you asked God to help you with this [leaving your comfort zone], what would you ask Him?" One of the possible answers reads, "give me a push." Currently, my knees are bleeding irony.

Of course, one of the other answers for that question is, "be very gentle with me." I had no broken bones, just a limp. My car never totally broke down; it just needed some work. And as I walk through life, tripping and stumbling, looking for Someone to repair my brokeness, I find there is a gentle God doing what it takes to get my attention but never going overboard.

As the other leaders and I discussed with the young men at Cornerstone Baptist Church, being gentle is not a sign of weakness or feminine in nature. Doing what is necessary may take skill and finesse, not brute force. While we shouldn't underestimate God's relentless love, we should also consider the gentle humility of God, one who came as a servant for our sins.