Manoj Pillai

Gentleness, also translated "meekness," does NOT mean weakness. On the contrary, gentleness requires a lot of strength and self-control. It requires humility and thankfulness toward God, and polite, kind behavior towards others. The opposite of gentleness is anger, a desire for revenge, and self-aggrandizement (trying to make ourselves look important). What does gentleness look like in practice? Well, in my experience, it looks like love, grace, helpfulness, and kindness.

Perseverance is, the continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition. We know what it means, but why is it important to persevere in our lives? Let’s face it, we all have challenges and goals. It could be as simple as writing a blog post. On the other hand, an even bigger challenge could be learning to be independent again after quadruple amputations. Every day we face challenges. But without the goals to overcome our challenges, we would never...