The Dove

"He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him." Matthew 3:16 (NIV)

🌿

I expected power to look like a fist, not a wing.

I thought the Spirit of God on the Son of God would descend like an army, not a dove.

🌱

But You chose gentleness on purpose, the way a mother chooses her softest voice for her most frightened child.

You do not force Your way into a life. You alight. You settle, the way a bird trusts a branch it was never promised would hold.

I have watched You do the same in me, never crashing in, always waiting to be welcomed.

I called it timidity.

It was You, choosing love over force, every single time.

🌾

Forgive me for wanting You to arrive with more noise than You ever intended.

Your gentleness was never weakness.

It was restraint, and restraint is a kind of love I am only beginning to understand.

Gentle Dove, teach me to welcome what does not force its way in.

🌿

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for choosing gentleness over force.

Thank You for waiting to be welcomed rather than demanding entry.

Teach me to open the door instead of waiting to be overpowered. Amen.

🌿