Reaching out in faith

August 29, 2014 / Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

Hearts, hands and voices reach out to God.

There’s a yearning, a desperate need to be heard.

To have our needs fulfilled.

And so often it feels like we come up empty.

Prayers appear to go unanswered.

Hopes are dashed.

We droop with disappointment and discouragement.

But could it be that we fail to receive because we fail to fully believe He will answer?

Missed careful study of His word to see what He has already said about this issue.

Been impatient, failed to linger in His Presence long enough to hear a response.

Or we’ve already worked out just how the answer will look, and This. Isn’t. It.

And in our haste to have answers, we can so easily forget that God often uses our confusion and pain to rouse us into deeper dependence on Him.

God has already spoken fully through Jesus, the living Word of God Incarnate.

He speaks still in hearts receptive to His voice and surrendered to His will and ways.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” ~ Isaiah 55:9

In pondering this, here are my best ‘five-minute-friday’ thoughts on ‘Reach’:

‘Reaching out’

Sometimes answers to prayer feel out of reach

no matter what we say, think, pray or preach

It feels like something could be missing

or maybe we’re not too good at listening

Failing to heed Your written word

or receive its wisdom seen and heard

Yet, there are many ways in which You reach out

with love and goodness in a whisper, not a shout,

Soft breaths fall as dew in the morning air

as manna drops to feed us, and to share

We are never left empty or alone

because in every heart You make a home

And Your arms were impaled, pierced to a tree

to reach out to all suffering humanity

Revealing Your forgiveness, grace and love

as they poured like wine from heaven above

So as we sit and ponder, rush and hurry,

there is really no need for us to worry

You hear and answer every prayer

with Wait, Yes, No, I am here

©JoyLenton2014

Linking here with Kate for #FMF (as we write freely for five minutes flat, with the joy of abandoning perfection) about ‘Reach’, and with Jennifer as we reach out to encourage one another and #tellhisstory in the process. You are warmly invited and encouraged to join in.

Show and tell

August 16, 2014August 16, 2014 / Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

As writers and poets we aim to show rather than tell.

Describe and entice. Provide and hold back.

To reveal something and conceal another.

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass” ~ Anton Chekhov

To stir emotions. Leave a lingering essence to savour.

Draw the reader in and leave them wanting more.

Make space for senses to fill in the gaps.

For imagination to take over and inspiration to remain.

Yet in living out our faith in Christ we need both ‘show and tell’.

Demonstrate His hand at work in our lives.

Reveal His character and our need of Him.

Make as clear as we can those things which we know and understand.

Admit to a cloud of unknowing where we give way for mystery. What is now concealed will one day be revealed.

Share our testimony and share His story ~ the best news of all cries out for voices to declare it.

Such thoughts were in my mind as I wrote the poem below.

‘Show and tell’

Let your life reveal your faith in Me

Show forth My goodness and grace

in your character and face

Tell your healing testimony

to encourage others, bring Me glory

Tell My people I love them dearly

and ache for them to see it clearly

No matter what sorrows they go through

I have power to make all things new

Tell out My greatness among the nations

Reveal My kindness, proclaim My worth

Offering salvation with new birth

Give them hope of making a brand new start

as I transform their mind and heart

My arms reach out, My hand is ready

to save, protect, restore and steady

Urge them now to yield and to Come

to listen and trust in Jesus, My Son

©JoyLenton2014

Linking here with Kate and other brave souls for #fiveminutefriday as we all write bold and free, share our stories and encourage one another. You are very welcome and warmly invited to join in.

Come empty

August 8, 2014August 8, 2014 / Joy Lenton / 14 Comments

We all long to have our love tanks filled. Be affirmed. Be welcomed. Be accepted.

But so often our desire to be seen and heard drives us into places where we shine bright as fire-flies briefly dancing bold in the darkness before it swallows us up and consumes us.

There is another way to satiate our thirsty souls. To discover all we are looking for.

There is a place where we come empty and become filled to overflowing.

Arrive with burdens too heavy to bear, with songs dying on our lips, with eyes full of tears.

Sink low with our sorrows, sickness and shame.

But there.. we are loved, embraced, held and comforted beyond measure.

You don’t have to dress up or pretend. You can be real. Be yourself. Breathe easy.

In God’s presence we find hope, healing, help, strength, forgiveness and grace.

And so much more besides.

So come to Him now. Lay aside your fears. He won’t reject or ignore you.

Come empty. Come weary. Come thirsty. Come hungry. Come Just. As. You. Are.

He is waiting, and will never turn you away.

‘Being filled’

With arms yawning empty, wide,

I arrive at your feet

hardly daring to lift my weary head

with a body yearning only for bed

When a dawning peace

envelops my soul

as you come and abide

ready to make me whole

rest in my heart, take ease and wait

while I sob, breathe deep and hesitate..

Finally, some strength seeps

through as I stay and weep

How could so much time

have taken wings, flown by

How could I have allowed

my soul to become so dry?

You smile and reach out

in reminder, with goodness and grace

There’s always a look of love on your face

You tilt my head toward your own and spill

everything given, overflowing to fill

And I realise, deep down,

it has always been there

if I’d only stopped, searched around

instead of drowning in despair

For all you long to provide, impart,

has already been sealed within my heart

©JoyLenton2014

Linking here with Kate Motaung for her first time hosting #fiveminutefriday Do come over, join with other brave and bold five minute writers, and give her a warm welcome! Also linking with Jennifer for #tellhisstory and with Mel for #essentialfridays

It’s time to start again

August 1, 2014 / Joy Lenton / 17 Comments

A blank space. Yawning gap. Untrod pathway. Virgin page.

How to fill it.

How to begin.

How to create again.

A mind can seize, thoughts stall and falter at the first hurdle.

A break has been taken and getting back on the horse feels scary.

What if…

I fall flat on my face?

Slide into mud and slink away ashamed?

Only…

Here there is grace.

Here I can breathe soft and easy, inhale deep of Holy Spirit inspiration and pour it out, exhale slow.

We canter into this race against the clock but we leave our reservations behind.

This isn’t about coming first or even putting on a good show. No perfectionist preening allowed. No ribbons, medals or honours given.

This is about being available. Showing up. Being ready to participate.

And I know the audience will be kind. Will cheer any effort to join in, even if I’ve been out of action for a while and limbs are stiff.

So here goes, five minutes of unedited, as it comes, straight from the heart to the page writing.

Are you ready for this slow runner, this outsider to start, to begin again?

‘Begin’

Leave your yesterdays behind

rise bold into a dawning day

As sun tips its filtering rays

over the horizon and grace

drips long and slow into

every crack and crevice

this is opportunity…

To begin again

To be set free

Forgiveness covers all our sin

and hope and joy are found in Him

We’re slowed down, stalled,

stuck fast, sidetracked,

but will never claw

our yesteryears back

Let dreams be birthed

Let sighs escape

Let creativity be worth

the effort it may take

Scrap and crumple

scrimp and save

but get those words

down on a page

For they are barren

inside your head

and what’s been dreamt

should now be said

Give them life

ignore the pain

It’s time to write

Begin again…

©JoyLenton2014

Linking here with Lisa-Jo and all the other brave and beautiful writers for #fiveminutefriday You are very welcome to join in.

Lost and found

June 28, 2014 / Joy Lenton / 4 Comments

Something has got lost in our increasingly busy, frantic lives.

We’ve forgotten how to detach from activity.

Neglected to resist the lure of the urgent over the important.

Taking time out just to ‘be’, to pause and breathe slow is rare.

Hours spent hunched over screens is making us more concerned with what’s in front of us than what’s going on in our hearts.

How can we see the way ahead when eyes are glued downwards?

Maybe we need a break, to lose ourselves in the inner life instead of outer activity.

Read a book, rest, relax, pray perhaps.

Perhaps we’d hear echoes in our hearts, reminders of our need for God.

Listening could take the place of continual noise.

In the silence we encounter ourselves as we truly are.

And that can be alarming.

But we also allow space for God to enter in.

We find what our souls have always been looking and longing for.

And that can be life changing.

‘Lost and found’

Lost in busyness

occupation, activity,

endless toil, never at ease

Lost in despair

hopelessness, gloom, misery,

failing to see God can set us free

Lost in dreams

hopes, schemes and plans,

missing the best from His hands

Lost in sorrow

sadness, grief and pain,

He comes close to us again

Lost in ourselves

our lives, our world,

waiting for future to be unfurled

Lost and alone

in the midst of a crowd

voices sounding harsh and loud

Lost and found

when we release our cares

let go the burden of years

Lost in Love

when He calms our soul

comforts, cleanses, makes us whole

Lost in peace

we cease from anxiety, worry,

relax in His Presence

no rush, no hurry

©JoyLenton2014

Linking here with Lisa-Jo, Laura and Mel

You need hands

June 6, 2014June 6, 2014 / Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

Hands can reveal so much about a person.

Their age, gender, ethnicity, relationship status, occupation, even potential or actual health problems.

Mine shout out that I’m a woman of mature years with joint distortion caused by arthritis (amongst other things).

I would love to have plump, smooth, pretty, ultra feminine hands… sigh. 😦

But, much as the circumstances of my life affect my body in general, they are also apparent on my hands.

When I was a child I caught my thumb in a mangle and the nail has been bent ever since.

When I worked as a nurse, I washed and washed these hands multiple times over the years, used antiseptic gel, alcohol wipes, and wore rubber gloves.

All of which contributed to the dryness and aging-before-their-time appearance.

It means I conceal rather than reveal. Hide them in my lap. Feel like they belong to someone else, someone older.

They are partly alien to me. I gaze at them with bewilderment some days. How did they get like this? I may be a grandma now but I dislike looking like one!

Yet they could also suggest a practical person who has used her hands, cared for others, been busy, worked hard, not been afraid to do dirty tasks or chip a nail.

These days, I can do very little in the practical daily living tasks, beyond basic self care. I need help to keep house and home together.

I am so grateful to be able to scrawl, write, type (albeit badly and slowly) and put these weary, worn, stiff and painful hands to some use again.

And as I reflect upon my changing hands and changed life, I remember hands scarred and rendered helpless, yet ones that transformed my life and eternal destiny, just as they can do for you.

‘Hands’

Hands conceal, reveal, plunder and steal,

reach out and take, gesticulate,

touch tender, become shield and defender,

hug, hold close, achieve the most

They can make, break, defile, wound and stain,

cause harm, alarm, revulsion and pain

Hands pierced fierce to a cross of wood

are the ones that treat us as they should

Arms of Love nailed to a tree

securing mercy, forgiveness and victory

Hands that gentle, soothe and hold

us closer than any brazen and bold

These hands scarred forever by the cross

will never cause us hurt or loss

They reach out across time and eternity

offering help, hope, healing to you and me

comfort, consolation, joy from despair,

goodness and grace seeping everywhere

They are the loving hands of God

welcoming us to the path He trod

Come, take His hand

Come, walk His path

Come, be held safe

through your time on earth

©JoyLenton2014

Linking here with Lisa-Jo for #fiveminutefriday This week’s prompt is:’hands’ You are very welcome and warmly invited to join in. Also joining with Mel and Laura

Mosaic of a marriage

May 30, 2014May 30, 2014 / Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

Nobody can fully appreciate or understand the dynamics, anatomy and intricacies of a marriage, apart from the couple intimately involved in it.

And even then, much remains a holy mystery.

We are husband and wife, friends and lovers joined together in union and communion with God and one another.

Two become one in mind, body, soul and spirit in a divine alchemy of grace.

My marriage is heavily grace-dependent.

My background, experiences and personal problems have gradually made me someone other than the relatively carefree young woman I used to be.

As I’ve tried to work through a legacy of dysfunctional family life, childhood abuse, guilt and shame, (and the mental health breakdown they gave me) the one linked inextricably with me has also lived through it all.

Now, after more than 20 years of having M.E and chronic illness, my ability to be the wife he needs and wants is hampered further still.

Though we have struggled a great deal (and continue to do so), some things shine out bright and clear as I look back over the years:

Love will always find a way where there seems to be no way.

Faith can endure all things if it’s faith rooted in God and His sustaining power.

Hope may wither but it rarely dies.

Joy comes in unexpected places and circumstances.

Grace is a prerequisite for a godly life and marriage.

God gives us all we’ll ever need ~ even if we rarely have all we want.

In musing on these things over the last few days it is no great surprise that my mind turned to this territory to write about today.

And as I do so, I rejoice over the masterpiece God is creating out of the messy mosaic of my life and marriage.

‘Mosaic of a marriage’

Nothing in our courtship could have prepared

our youthful, hopeful, joy-filled hearts

for the prolonged grief and pain we’ve shared

or the need for so many fresh starts

Nothing in my mind could have foreseen

how very hard and challenging

living with me would have been

more your worst nightmare than dream

For we have been tried and tested

as gold goes through the fire

refined, processed and sifted

retaining heat, passion and desire

Nothing I can say will make up

for numerous ways I’ve let you down

You’ve had a bitter pill to swallow

gaining a face wreathed with frowns

But we, who are nothing without

the sustaining power of God

have finally made Something

of this life and path we’ve trod

Given grace from the One

who pours out His love every day

Given faith to persevere

when nothing’s gone our way

So I love you imperfectly

just as I am

and you’ve accepted my offering

a meagre nothing to the feelings

found within my man

Thank God for new beginnings

Praise Him for being true

Give Him the glory for making

faithful, if faltering, lovers

out of me and you

©JoyLenton2014

Joining with Lisa-Jo for #fiveminutefriday (yes, I ran over time!) ~ this week’s prompt is:‘Nothing’. You are very welcome and warmly invited to join in. Linking also with Mel and Laura

You can read more about how the issues above have affected my marriage in this post from Words of Joy.

I share openly in the hope of encouraging others to know they can live with and rise above their circumstances by the grace of God.

Closer than a prayer

May 24, 2014 / Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

‘Close’

Sometimes I..

feel quite lost, isolated and alone

despite having a loving husband,

family and friends to call my own

Deep down there is a space, a place

no one can really fill, where

tears are cried and often spill

Because we..

are built for sharing and community

yet feel afraid of others knowing

the ugly truth and full reality

of who we are and how we feel

inside, so we tend to pull and

shy away, conceal and hide

But you..

have a way of penetrating

the deep recesses of our heart

seeing all we are and can be,

understanding every part

Coming closer than a whispered prayer,

a breath exhaled, as you draw near

So please..

be here and

stay close to me

just as you have promised

you will be

©JoyLenton2014

Linking here with Lisa-Jo, Lyli and Mel

A heart unfurls

May 10, 2014 / Joy Lenton / 4 Comments

Grace grows strong in a heart full of gratitude.

As we sow thankfulness seeds we are rewarded with a deeper appreciation of life.

Yet our hearts can be so cold, shrivelled by worry, anxiety, fears.

Casting our cares seems to send them into orbit for nanoseconds before they return multiplied and heavier than before.

How can we learn to live fully and freely? Is there a way to have lasting peace, joy and contentment?

I’m slowly discovering that joy seeps in when my heart turns heavenward.

When I lean heavy on God’s grace and less on my own understanding.

Hope replaces discouragement the more I trust God to take care of things.

Feeding on His word nourishes my inner being.

Daily reflection on and remembering His #1000gifts is an exercise in maintaining a grateful heart.

There are days when He feels far away and I forget to pray. Try to do things in my own limited strength. Neglect to seek His guidance and wisdom.

Yet He stands patient, ready and willing to step in as soon as I allow Him entry.

An open heart is a place He desires to inhabit and fill to overflowing.

Our task is to see our emptiness and be willing to ask God to fill it. And as He fills us with His love, joy and peace they will overflow out to others.

Joining here with Lisa-Jo for Five Minute Friday and with Mel for Essential Fridays. You are very welcome and warmly invited to take part.

‘A heart unfurls’

Circle of thorns

surround a heart curled small

self-protective, bud-tight

against assailing light

Alabaster jar breaks

releasing its sweet perfume

of death, burial, rising free

into the waiting room

Piercing cruel, sharp,

upon the brow so deep

scarlet-red begins to seep

Dripping soft and slow

new life from old

flames bright and grows

The heart unfurls

as gently, one by one,

its folds embrace the Son

Warmed by Love

its fragrance fills

scent of gratitude spills

as petals fall to ground

©JoyLenton2014

Our friend

April 26, 2014 / Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

Genuine friendship is a gift to treasure.

To proffer the hand of friendship to another is to offer yourself in support of their wellbeing, and open yourself to reciprocal attention, care and concern.

Feeling heard and understood is rare in a world that is often too busy to listen or too indifferent to care.

Multiple connection points are provided, but true friendship is a gift of grace.

When it’s all about what you do, who you are, what you look like and who you know, it provokes competitiveness, discouragement and despair at not fitting in with the world’s perceptions of who they think we should be.

As we get assessed, found wanting and bypassed, we can easily feel isolated, rejected and neglected.

So where does our security lie? Is it in the numbers of followers, fans, ‘likes’ and comments we receive?

No, far from it. It’s a shaky foundation indeed to build our self-esteem on other people’s fluctuating, fickle feelings.

Though it’s not all bad news on social media; it does have its positive side regarding friendships.

I’ve been greatly blessed by the wonderful on-line community of writers, poets and bloggers, M.E and chronic illness sufferers, and fellow Christians I have got to know and consider to be real friends.

They are genuine, giving and caring people who lift, encourage and help me come up higher. I thank God daily for them.

And I’ve been bruised by putting too much store on how people in general interact with me.

There is only one friend who will never let us down, always be there for us, consistently reliable, capable, loving unconditionally despite knowing all there is to know about us.

His Name is Jesus.

Our greatest Friend, Lord and Saviour.

And as my real life friendships often fall foul of the challenges presented by my having M.E ~ finding it hard to never know when I’ll be well enough to speak on the phone, be visited, or meet up ~ it is His friendship that means the most to me.

I’m joining here with Lisa Jo and other brave writerly souls for the challenge of Five Minute Friday, where we write freely, letting words fall as they will with no deep reflecting, on this week’s topic of ‘Friend’. You are very welcome and warmly invited to take part.

START…

‘Our Friend’

This friend

has arms stretched wide

forming an extended circle

of Love for you and me

This friend

calls us to His side

forming a fellowship of grace

as brothers, sisters, community

This friend

provides a safe place to hide

when life’s storms overwhelm

He is shelter from all harm

and balm for every calamity

This friend

will brook no boast or pride

in knowing Him, for all

are welcome to enter in

embraced, held, received

This friend

is Rock against the tide

of sin and shame

taking all upon Himself

when He died and rose again

to set us free

©JoyLenton2014

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Poetry Joy

sensing the sacred in the everyday

Five Minute Friday

Reaching out in faith

Show and tell

Come empty

It’s time to start again

Lost and found

You need hands

Mosaic of a marriage

A heart unfurls

Our friend

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