I heard this from my good long time friend Marvin Zanders.  A great pastor in the AME church. It was at the start of my teaching career. He was advising me on some things to do and not to do as I began as a new teacher. He was giving me some tips that have stuck with me in different classrooms of life.

This morning I thought back to this one  piece of advice. I am presently in the middle of a few hard choices for MY LIFE, not things  that perhaps the general population is happy about. Along with that I am fully aware of a few people who are doing some things behind my back that are just not nice. I’ve even been misrepresented a little as I go forward in my life decisions because it has shaken up the boat for the masses.

Well just as the weight of that crossed my mind this morning, I thought back to this piece of advice. “Be sweet Gewanda, just be sweet”  I remember him looking up at me and piercing his eyes. I think what he was implying is that sometimes it will be hard to do this. You will want to yell and defend yourself. Or there will be times when you want to fight back. Or you might want to tell someone off and let them know you are not as naïve and simple as they think you are. Or you just want to not be sweet but cop an attitude and handle your business like you know you are capable of doing.

But…. instead you have to will yourself and chose to make an effort to be nice and kind. To take the higher road and go forward despite your human instincts of defense and protection or retaliation.

Being sweet reminds me of the scripture when Jesus says if they ask you to go one mile, go two. It they take your coat, give them your tunic as well and if they slap you on one cheek, then turn the other. WOW.  This takes an inward strength that is not humanly possible. It’s only by the power of  a supreme being who can do such a thing and not react but respond properly.

GOD is our help……   God WILL help….. God does HELP! and with the help of God we can be sweet. JUST PLAIN OLE SWEET in the midst of some sour circumstances.

It’s REALLY worth the transformation of the INWARD JOURNEY