A THICK HIDE

The "ferocious restraint" of meekness

• Matthew 11:28-30. “Come unto me, all ye who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

  Matthew 5:5: "Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the world."

• Holy Spirit gives me my inspiration each week, with the title and then the theme for each weekly writing piece. I admit, being the blunt girl that I am...I struggled with the word "meekness", as it seemed too opposite to me, more passive than I think of myself.

• Then the thunderbolt hit: Christ Himself was meek!! He ministered to us gnarly humans, despite the horrible job we have done in caring for the earth and for each other. He allowed Himself to be mistreated and mauled and killed on our behalf. What could be more "ferociously restrained" then that incredible sacrifice for all of us?? Then He had the temerity to rise from the dead and be seen by many in the 40 days He remained on earth before going Home to sit by the Father and to Intercede in prayer for us daily.

• Man...sometimes I'm dense! How could I miss that??

• Now a tough hide seems like a tall order for someone not a raving Type A or aggressive temperament...and yet many survivors are out there, not making huge noise but still living well! I guess I do have a tough hide of sorts. I'm still here!

• God is in the relentless business of transforming His children...and He is taking me apart...and putting me through what the Bible calls "the washing of regeneration."

  It's an adventure...not remotely dull.

• A dear Discipleship teacher of mine from the past, once shared the phrase "ferocious restraint". My teacher was speaking of the immense hidden power of meekness. HUH??? I think he coined the phrase of "ferocious restraint", which also may have roots in C.S. Lewis writings and concepts.

• Those two words do not seem to remotely match. The push to climb up over and conquer all...that is the core of Western culture. Action can be good...as long as you know which kind of action to take...otherwise chaos can be unleashed.

  How can "meekness" be "ferocious" in any way? The Bible speaks of "the meek shall inherit the earth" and I know the wags laugh and point to a grave in the ground, as if that is the plot the meek will win. Nope.

• I sometimes wonder how many of us fully depart from some elements of childhood? Complaining, beefing, stomping, crying, I am still a rueful expert at all of this junk. I moan, ARGH, ARGH, ARGH...and am not particulary meek!

• I suggest one come before God and do the following three things, plus two "finishes" to allow you to vent, which seems to also help to clear the junk out:

  -Step one: Keep heart and spirit clear of doubt and dross, repent quickly when you miss it.

  -Step two: Ask for help, quickly and often! (this is the "well-duh" portion of our program! Welcome...and please take a seat in the back of the room...)

  -Step three: reduce the need to do it all myself or do nothing ("because I can't do it anyway, so why even try,?") An expert in this, am I...

• *******

  -Step four: allow five minutes to brood on all this and when the timer dings, stand up...and DO SOMETHING, hopefully good.

  -Step five, final: in addition to the five minute brood, add a five minute argue to the hourglass...and same, when hourglass is empty, stand up and ASK Holy Spirit, " what now?" I assure you, He will cheerfully answer you and guide you. I also sagely suggest not arguing with Holy Spirit, as He can outlast you...

• OK, brood done, argue done...now the panic begins.

• I am still coming up and out of decades of a too-cynical world view, dissatisfied with myself more than not, frustrated with the meanness of so much of the world, struggling to find myself in this maelstrom.

• Meek?? Me??? While I do not seek fisticuffs or combat, I still have a sharp tongue. This does not work any more and has caused me untold misery over my nearly 73 years of life.

• I have simply not been good at the material world game...point, counterpoint, and compete, compete , compete. I remember a dear friend back in San Francisco, who was somewhat horrified that I was not only NOT competitive but also hated competition en-masse. This does not mean a doormat to be tumbled...but it does mean perhaps God has some ideas better than mine.

• I have no " status " in this realm.

  This would include Elder female, lower income, invisible to some degree.

• When I hear "meek", the reaction is "weak or passive"… and then I hear the "ferocious restraint" phrase and something begins to simmer in me.

• I am not on the "front lines" of power and far from an "influencer", as an influencer is the last thing on earth I want to be! Why would I want to push my “influence" on strangers?? Can't they figure out for themselves?? I do not follow "influencers" in any manner. Regardless of my bluntness, I am able to reasonably figure out a few things on my own, through the time-honored human tradition of "learn by doing" and "there's a pothole nearby...watch out for it" and "don't be a doofus!" (Check!) I do have some experience in this muddy pit!

• With my love of fabric and clothing, I think of modesty in garments and I use the phrase "power held in reserve." I do not ever dress provocatively at nearly age 73. Dignity is meek, circumspect is meek.

  Can power held in reserve, be meek?

  I think so.

• My Mom was a meek woman...but also a Registered Nurse, trained back in the 1930's and nursing is a warrior profession, just like many parts of medical work! She took no guff and knew her work and yet always reflected the love of God for others. Meek means you hold an awareness of the sorrows of others and move slowly and gently within their space. None of us know what someone else might have endured in their life. This also resembles something that I definitely am: an empath, who feels deeply, the emotions of others.

• As I continue to learn some things that are somewhat foreign to my temperament, I am also offered some truly amazing lessons that are placed on my path, tenderly and conveniently by God.

• As I came home from errands this week, parked my faithful car and launched off on my short walk before going into my apartment, I felt a nudge to look across the street. There was an obvious good-sized raptor bird, likely an osprey, landing atop a power pole and stepping into the large nest it had built there. The phrase about blooming in the place you currently are...landed in my spirit...birds, bees, and Wen-dees.

  I believe I shall give this " ferocious restraint " a try...as my sharp tongue has not brought me much along the realm of substantial benefits...Perhaps God knows something I do not...

  Wendy Elizabeth Williams, Friday, August 15, 2025

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  -- Finally, please pray for me that I hear the still, small voice of Holy Spirit, directing me. Thank you! Wendy