God has a wonderful way of infiltrating the harsh, wintry aspects of our days with the summer-bright laser beam of His light and love, His goodness and grace. Then the bleak emptiness, weariness, weakness or pain we might be experiencing seem to lessen a little, as we absorb the warmth of God’s presence in our hearts.
It begins to thaw our cold souls and infuse hope into our hurting places. Because there is always opportunity to start again, to rebuild, at least in how we might perceive our situations. We can build a new foundation any time we need to, aided by God’s mercy and grace, and with His help and equipping.
#build #FMF #foundation #grace #hope #opportunity #faith #poetryforthesoul #poetryjoy
Nothing else speaks quite so powerfully to us of the Father's love for us than the story of the prodigal son. Here we see scandalous grace in action. Here we find hope of being welcomed, loved, accepted and forgiven by God. This is an excerpt from my poem about the prodigal son. You can read the full poem below and catch up with my Art of Advent thoughts on my wordsofjoy.me blog this week.
The prodigal son
The father stoops to comfort, to welcome
home his lost and errant son.
No rebuke. No reproach.
Only a ring on the finger,
a sizzling roast dinner
and a fresh set of clothes.
This prodigal had strayed, lost
his way and lost himself
to baser things.
Turned his back, then turned
full circle to return again.
He came home as one who has seen
the seedy side of life,
the degradations of squandering
his inheritance, his wealth,
his soul on loose living.
He came with shame, humiliated
by his own behaviour,
by the state he was in,
expecting to be treated as he thought
he deserved,
but met with mercy instead.
More than that, he encountered open
arms and open heart, a warm
embrace, tears, forgiveness, grace,
acceptance, a kneeling father pouring
out nothing but love.
We are prodigals, stray sheep
who have wandered off
and squandered the gifts our God
has lavished on us,
without a thought.
Yet he receives us all, comes running
barefoot in our souls, in his haste
to comfort, not to scold.
And to hold us close, this child he’s
lost and esteems as precious
and dearly beloved.
© joylenton
#artofadvent #Advent #prodigalson #Godlovesyou #beloved #mercy #forgiveness #poetry #hope #faith #wordsofjoy
