Month: October 2018

Imprints: on Halloween and All Souls’ Day

/ Joy Lenton / 14 Comments

Imprints - on Halloween and All Souls Day (C)joylenton @poetryjoy.com

Here in our quiet cul-de-sac, where few children live, we don’t tend to go in so much for wearing costumes, face painting, house or garden decoration when Halloween season arrives. Though pumpkins may be bought and carved into lanterns, and some might be ingested too as pies, soup or lattes.

What strikes me most about Halloween, apart from the potentially ghoulish aspects, is the event which All Saints Eve (as it’s also known as) is based on. It’s the night before All Hallows Day (or All Souls’ Day), where we remember and honour dear, departed friends, family,  saints and martyrs.

We all leave traces of our presence here. Imprints that do not fade. Soul markers in the lives of others. And a lasting legacy of how we lived out our days. How we have loved and offered grace. How we reflected the life of Christ within and manifested His presence.

That’s a sobering thought. But it’s also an encouraging one. Because the best of ourselves is largely hidden to us. When we act and react selflessly, out of receiving God’s goodness and grace, then we are less likely to be noticing and applauding those deeds.

Your life counts. You matter. You impact others far more than you might realise. The imprints of your lived out life will endure into eternity itself. As we live in the light of eternity, may we seek to honour those who have gone before us, love others well, make wise choices and live with hearts willingly surrendered to God.

Imprints

Halloween
season of mischief, mayhem
carving pumpkins
making jack-o’-lantern horrors
to help us to see in the dark

apple bobbing
and children playing pranks
they’re dressing up
threats given if they don’t receive
good supply of confectionery

I prefer to think
of it being All Hallows Eve
and celebrating
All Hallows Day, remembering
the deceased, lost and fallen

a time to honour
those who we’ve known and loved
passing of a life
souls laid here now to rest
saints gone to be with Christ

it’s a reminder
making us more mindful
as sand slips through
the swift hourglass of time
we’ll leave an imprint to find
© joylenton

imprints poem excerpt (C)joylenton @poetryjoy.com

PS: you can get the lowdown on Halloween here and All Souls’ Day here, plus fascinating facts about pumpkins here. 🙂 

moment: changing our lives by small increments

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

moment_ changing our lives by small increments @poetryjoy.com

Our lives are lived in a series of small moments. Microseconds of breath and being. Although our major focus tends to be on the larger issues that preoccupy us, it’s life’s small moments that matter the most. They’re the ones we need to savour and build good memories from.

Each moment can be life defining because they have the potential to be soul altering. The decisions we make and the ways we act and react are a result of tiny, incremental drip-feeding over years that we are giving to our minds and hearts.

If we feed ourselves with positive, life enhancing thoughts, absorb and put into practice the teaching which the Bible gives us, then we are better placed to live more mindfully. Which will give us a deeper moment by moment awareness.

By living more in the moment, we can develop a better appreciation for all things. A greater gratitude. And closer relationships with God and others, as we practice being in His presence and being more present to them.

It only takes a moment

it only takes a moment to hurt a person’s heart
or crush a soul with a harsh, ill-judged remark

it only takes a moment to think, pause and pray
before we rush blindly, heedlessly into the day

it only takes a moment to cause another
pain, to wound them with our words and deeds
and give them reason to feel ashamed

it only takes a moment, tears, a mere breath
to repent, and seek a different route instead

it only takes a moment to inflict another
with the lashing from our tongues, and watch
as they shrink down low inside themselves

it only takes a moment to stop and weigh up
our words, and give our mouths a holy pause

it only takes a moment to show those whom
we love how very precious and valued they are

it only takes a moment to care, esteem another
higher than ourselves, and want to serve them well

it only takes a moment to live an open, grace filled
life—providing we’re aware and willing to oblige
© joylenton

moment - it only takes a moment poem excerpt (C)joylenton @poetryjoy.com

I’m grateful that a few moments spent praying for the gift of words have given me a poem to share with you today. It’s inspired by this week’s five-minute-friday prompt of ‘moment’. Just click here to join us there. I’m even more thankful it only takes a moment for God to begin to fix what is broken in us. He doesn’t delay in pouring out His grace and love! 🙂

who: searching for our true soul identity

/ Joy Lenton / 16 Comments

ballerina on a rock - who_ searching for our true soul identity @poetryjoy.com

Our true soul identity isn’t always clear. Who we are deep inside can become distorted in a complex maze of roles, labels, problems and pain. Especially if we assimilate flawed views and opinions of ourselves over the years.

As children we can be parented and nurtured well or damaged by careless handling and bad experiences. Such things help shape our perspective. They can also create a false persona we try hard to live up to.

Thankfully, there is someone who has a clear-eyed view of who we are. Our true identity is safe with God. He sees our hidden self. The parts we feel ashamed of and hide from others. The truth of who we are deep down.

God sees into the depths of our soul. He knows our heart and what we are capable of. He sees all we are in the process of becoming by His grace. He loves us unconditionally, unreservedly and eternally. I know who I am because I know the awe-inspiring, holy I AM Himself. It’s a great relief and a huge blessing to be so well known and yet so amazingly loved.

Who

her real identity was swallowed up
in a dark, murky sea of hurt and pain
washed with woundedness, false guilt
and shame, because she didn’t know
who she was or how to reclaim herself

her who became her do as she
sought to find herself in tasks
and helping others, but deep
inside she ached and cried with a
hollow void, and she lost her voice

until God revealed the way back
to being herself, to being whole
was through the cross of Jesus Christ
his beloved Son, and her true soul
identity, her “who” was wrapped up
in his mercy, grace and endless love

instead of worrying about her loss
she could open up like a fragrant
flower, spill out her life in writing
words and prayer, let her focus shift
toward Whose she has become by
faith, who she is now in his embrace
© joylenton

who - searching for our true soul identity poem excerpt (C)joylenton @poetryjoy.com

I’m sharing my poem with the fabulous five-minute-friday writing community. This week’s prompt is ‘who’. You are welcome to join us. Just click here to read the great variety of posts being share. 🙂

praise: the secret power of praising God in life’s storms

/ Joy Lenton / 23 Comments

praise - the secret power of praising God in life's storms @poetryjoy.com

Praise tends to fall easily from our lips when life is good and we see visible signs that we are blessed. We feel happy and content because all seems to be right with our world. But what about when the sky darkens or falls in for us? What then?

Praising God during life’s storms can feel like an impossible thing to do. Yet praise is a powerful weapon to defeat discouragement and lift our mind and heart back to God. If we can open ourselves to God and lay all our cares at His feet, we can also learn how to praise and trust Him to meet all our needs even before we see it happening.

I’ve experienced this myself. On days when light was eclipsed in my soul and I was locked inside myself, drowning in feelings I didn’t want to have. Maybe you’ve been there too? Or are suffering that way now? 

May I encourage you to let Jesus into your pain filled places. Invite God to be Lord of your sadness, sorrow and loss. Ask Him to help, heal and lift you up. It’s a heart cry prayer He will always answer.

Such thoughts shaped my (slightly more than 5 minutes) poem. I hope and pray it will be a blessing to you, my friend.

Praise

her countenance is clouded
darkened by circumstance
head drooping low to ground
soul feels like it’s chained down

she can barely register anything or
think clearly, hear others speaking
because her mind and heart are gripped
hard, caught up in turmoil and pain

then she hears a voice urging her
to look up and lift her sad gaze
to him, to raise her head higher
see her Lord standing here by her

because it is here, in the midst
of hardship and pain that he
whispers his encouragement
urges her to begin again

here? now? she cannot fathom how
nevertheless, she listens, begins
to murmur softly in her heart and
ignite a small thanksgiving spark

praise starts as a tiny seed within
a sacrificial offering, often scraped
from a raw place, then flowering
into tears, words, deeds and grace

now he gently whispers her name
pulls her out of the miry pit she
is in, helps her to stand strong today
on the solid ground of faith and praise
© joylenton

praise - the secret power of praising God in life's storms - praise poem excerpt (C)joylenton @poetryjoy.com

I praise God for having a writing space and thoughts to share as I join fellow wordsmiths over at five-minute-friday today. The prompt is ‘praise’. You are very welcome to join in. Just click here to read the great posts being shared.  🙂

share: God’s unconditional love encourages us to share and trust

/ Joy Lenton / 16 Comments

share - God's unconditional love encourages us to share and trust @poetryjoy.com

Love wore many faces for me as a child. Not all of them welcome or healthy. I didn’t experience unconditional, fully accepting and embracing love until I invited Christ into my heart in my late teens.

Even though I was, and still am, very willing to share the wondrous things God has done for me, I’ve found that opening up about a painful past and sharing my wounded, imperfect self with others has proved challenging over the years.  But we all need safe places to vent and people we trust to share ourselves with.

Now I am in a better place than in my wary childhood days. A spacious place because I have been redeemed by grace. And as I’ve found courage enough to write and spill my story instead of hiding away, I give God the glory for opening up wider avenues of confidence and trust, of love and faith. Those “you too?” moments mean so much and are well worth the vulnerability we choose to expose to others by sharing our hearts.

“He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” – Psalm 18:19

To share or not to share

she kept her heart locked tight
unwilling to open up
one person had an invite
flooded it with his love

a slow warming, thawing
as icy layers began to melt
he continued to pour more in
unafraid of her tumult

dirty corners were cleansed
cobwebbed thoughts expunged
she didn’t have to make amends
he took the mess upon himself

to share or not to share
a daily life dilemma
wanting to disappear
the silent death of her

he breathed a purer air
he spoke a new language
mercy and grace appeared
as he took away her anguish
© joylenton

share - to share or not to share poem (C)joylenton @poetryjoy.com

I’m delighted to be sharing my five minute poem with the wonderful wordsmiths in the five-minute-friday community.  This week’s prompt is: “share”. You are warmly invited to join in and read the great posts being shared. 🙂