As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
— Colossians 3:12 (NIV)



The definition of compassion is "a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering." How aware are we of the people around us? Do we notice when they are in pain? Do we notice when they need someone to talk to?

The definition of kindness is "the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic." Are you a kind person? When someone you do not particularly like comes around, are you kind to them? Do you treat them with consideration or do you just hope they leave as soon as they can.

The definition of gentleness is "politeness of the heart." The definition of patience is "good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence." If you struggle with patience, be careful with asking God for more patience. The saying "Be careful what you wish for" applies here. Recently, I prayed for God to help me with my patience. His response has been to make me wait, to give me a week of subing my most challenging class for another teacher, and, most recently, giving me the nasty stomach bug that has come around.