Give me a tender heart.

"Tenderness…

is what happens to you when you know you are deeply and sincerely liked by someone. If you communicate to me that you like me, not just love me as a[sister] in Christ, you open up to me the possibility of self-respect, self-esteem,and wholesome self-love. Your acceptance of me banishes my fears. Mydefense mechanisms—sarcasm, aloofness, name‐dropping, self‐righteousness giving the appearance of having it all together—start to fall. I drop my mask and smile at my weaknesses and absurdities. The look in your eyes gives me
permission to make the journey into the interior of myself and make peace with
that part of myself where I could never find peace before. I become more open,sincere, vulnerable, and affectionate…I too grow tender."

-Brennan Manning

What truth this quote holds for me. As I begin to start my third consecutive year on Bayside West’s Student Leadership Team I am striving to build this tenderness within our community of leaders and within myself.

It is extremely important to me that I live a life in which I abandoned my own selfishness so that I may love on others. However, I know that I am but only human and thus have moments which I do not tenderly love on those who need it the most.

This is my challenge for this year. To love tenderly. To communicate to others that I not only desire to love on them but that I am invested in their growth, in their journey.

I want people to see me as someone they can confide in. Someone they can be truthful with, someone they can cry, laugh, sing, and dance with. Someone who they are so content with that they can go beyond their own bounds.
I want people to feel comfortable to open up, to dig deep within themselves and say what is truly on their heart.
I believe that everyone wants to be accepted and wants to be comfortable in their own skin. I feel it necessary to say that I too have this desire and need within my own heart.

As I continue to grow within my own life I realize how much I want to be open.

Ever since I was a kid I have had this fear of opening up to people and truly trusting them. I believe that this feeling of being closed off stems from the fact that as a young kid others picked on me because of my differences.

As I have grown older though, I have learned that not everyone I meet wants to tear down my self concept. There are in fact people who want to support me, watch me grow, and be apart of my life… & the knowledge of that is so freeing!!!

I want to insure this year that I work on myself, so that I may be a support for someone else. I want to have the capacity within my heart to give others the tenderly love they deserve.

I believe that as a student leader it is my obligation to set a high standard for myself. As a leader, it is my duty to portray God’s love. I believe God loved tenderly, I know He did.

This is why I must challenge myself to do so. It will be difficult - I have to be honest. I can’t hide. I must invest in OTHERS-Not myself. I must not judge. I must not gossip. I must not lie.

I MUST put forth all my effort and prayers towards being a light for Jesus. I MUST give myself up for the good of who He is. I MUST break down my own barriers and step out of my own comfort zone.

I MUST challenge myself to greet others I don’t know, be truthful to all I meet, and speak my heart. I MUST challenge myself to be real and to love like the Creator.

It wont be easy- therefore my prayers will be plenty.

Let us be encourager's. Let us be tender to one and another. Let our love for Jesus and for others be like a wildfire that can’t be put out.
Let us grow tender.