Reflections

Where we see holes

/ Joy Lenton / 3 Comments

holes ~ tankaHow do you see your life?

Maybe, like mine, it’s full of holes.

Areas of unfulfilled plans, uncertainty, pain and turmoil sit side by side with love, laughter and joy from above.

And those messed up places look like empty, wasted spaces in what could be a full and flourishing patch.

Garden grown crazy, weed-ridden. Can’t see the wood for the trees.

Only.. Light has a way of seeping through, turning fallowed into hallowed ground.

Bringing beauty out of ashes. Joy from despair.

Grace-occupied space is never wasted.

Here lies hope, potential, holy ground.

New life to come from the old.

A making way for growth and harvest in due time.

Let’s see it and believe it. Trust our days and ways to God.

Look for colour and brightness in the darkest of spaces.

See its fronds filtering through. Realise there is purpose in the midst of pain. New life is springing forth.

Promise poking through those holey places, held fast by the glue of His grace.

Bringing transformation, change and healing.

holes ~ tanka poem pin 2

 

Whistling in the dark

/ Joy Lenton / 2 Comments

praying_on_bible_red

Sounds reverberate off the ceiling. Bounce back to knock us sideways.

We hear our voice alternately whispering, crying, calling out.

Is this a monologue or a dialogue? Better not to say anything, perhaps.

Does silence really speak volumes?

Sometimes praying can feel like speaking to ourselves.

Is anybody listening? Or are we just whistling in the dark?

Thoughts swirl loud. Hearing our heartbeat pounding.

Murmurs of life pulse and throb, yet all around is a seemingly empty void.

Can you hear me, God? Am I getting through to You?

So often we feel lost. Adrift on a sea of sounds of our own making. All feels dark. Empty.

Yet it is here, in the depths of silence, where God reminds us darkness is as light to Him, and there is no place where He cannot be found by seeking souls. No way He cannot make Himself known to a listening heart.

Cathedral cloisters ~ listening poem pin

 

Our tears are prayers, carefully collected, cherished.

The unspoken cries of our hearts are heeded.

We need to remember this as we call out as the psalmist did:

“God, listen! Listen to my prayer, listen to the pain in my cries” ~ Psalm 102:1 (The Message)

It’s in rest and quiet, in a drawing aside, a laying down, a giving, offering and opening up that we ready ourselves to hear and receive.

Come aside. Breathe deep. Inhale Holy Spirit breath. Lay aside doubt, preconceptions and prejudices.

Come empty to be filled.

Come thirsty to be refreshed.

Come to the One who knows you inside out.

Make space to just be. To let go of anxiety and pain. God is big enough to take it all.

Quiet your heart. Still your voice. Tune out the world and tune in to Him.

We can never emerge from God’s presence the same as we came into it.

Let Him love on you. He is the giver of all good gifts, Father of compassion, Restorer of all brokenness.

Come, my friend, come…. seek the Light, seek grace, seek God.

He is here. He is listening. Meet with Him in the mundane moments. Sense His hand in everything. Listen to your life.

Wait with holy expectation. Keep hoping. Keep believing. Stay in faith. Live mindful of His Presence. In due time, answers will come.

47051-ExcellentQuotations.com-Mother-Teresa

Vibrancy

/ Joy Lenton / 4 Comments

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Within the darkest recess of soil life stirs.

It cannot be held back for ever.

There is seed bursting forth. New growth appears. Fruit will come.

Arid, dry desert places give way to lush green, verdant growth.

In the Winter of our souls,  entombed hearts awaken to Life. Resurrection. Gasp of freedom.

Sense hope rising and faith stirring.

Vibrancy in the air; pulsation of purpose.

An awakening.

Call to rise up.

A new season has begun.

Yesterday’s mistakes, pain and problems can be laid aside, cast at the Saviour’s feet.

Grace calls us forward, upward and onward. Readies us for change.

The old is left behind as we welcome and embrace this day, this moment, this gift of new beginnings.

Gratitude grows strong in hearts ready to receive God’s best.

geranium leaf ~ vibrancy tanka poem pin 2

 

The road less travelled

/ Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

We tread a familiar pathway in this season of hope and renewal.

Walk through the Easter story with a weight of wonder.

Marvel anew at all our Lord went through as He trod the sand-blown, palm-strewn, hosanna-resounding, hostility-riven, nail-driven path to Calvary.

Our dark valleys and nights of the soul pale into insignificance beside Christ’s ordeal at Gethsemane.

Begging for the cup of suffering and sorrow to pass Him by.

Heart and soul in dread.

Sweating ruby-red from furrowed forehead.

Agonised at the thought of torment to come.

Never more fully human and fully God than in these heart-wrenching, lonely, decisive moments in history.

Friends slept oblivious as He waged war internally for our souls’ sake.

Faced being pinioned to a cross. Ready to accept all sin and loss.

Held captive so we could walk free in glorious grace-filled liberty.

Beating a path toward freedom as nails bite into torn, flailed flesh.

Thorns pierce deep and pain sears all senses.

crown of thorns file image

 

Here lies Love ~  unconditional and immeasurable ~ greater than anything we will ever know.

He took the road less travelled and takes us with Him too.

Ponder His Passion.

Poured out wine of His royal blood Divine.

Pursue the pathway.

Be taken to the cross.

Meet with glory.

Live to tell this eternal story.

cross image ~ You take me tanka poem pin

It began in a garden

/ Joy Lenton / Leave a comment

It began in a garden.

With a serpent’s hissed seed sown.

Temptation lurked near.

Belief and trust wavered.

Disobedience followed with a seeing, desiring, reaching out, touching and tasting.

Sin entered in with accompanying guilt and shame.

Naked awareness.

Desires laid bare.

Souls adrift on an ocean of uncertainty.

Estranged. Lives rearranged. Everything changed.

Banished and burdened. Empty and lost.

Needing hope and healing. Saving at any cost.

Relationship broken by the Fall. Father God gave His all..

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” ~ John 3:16-17

apple ~ fall haiku image pindark ~ sin haiku image pin

crucifixion ~ grace haiku image pin

Colour my world

/ Joy Lenton / 3 Comments

There are days when all feels dark and dismal.

Clouds hang heavy and hearts sink low.

Drained of all energy or brightness.

We long for colour and vitality.

Signs of Life. Hope. Faith.

Sense the stirring as earth wakens to Spring.

Feel an inner awakening birthing joy and light.

Encouragement emerges  to lift weary spirits.

Seek goodness and grace as seen in our Saviour’s face

“I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; and their faces are never covered with shame” ~ Psalm 34:4-5

National Poetry month 2014 image

‘Colour my world’

Colour my world a rosy hue

with splashes of calming green and blue

Paint over each trace of gloomy grey

ashes be gone, erase sadness today

Mix in some vibrant purple-shaded hues

so spiritual power becomes renewed

Add fine threads of gold, glowing bright

glimmers of grace reveal Your light

Discard all dark, inky-black stains

reminders of any loss or pain

Orange to add life and energy

as You pour daily strength into me

Remember to leave some brilliant white

space on the canvas ~ just out of sight

©JoyLenton2014

colour my world image pin

Calling for hush

/ Joy Lenton / 14 Comments

There’s a signal, a flow.

A day moves forward.

Earth slows.

Cease from hurry and rush.

Light fades and dies.

We breathe out.

A silent sigh.

Holy hush..

dusk ~ toward evening tanka poem pin

 

And we listen.

Hear more than eyes can see.

Make space for a greater reality.

God calls time on our day.

No matter what has taken place, we can be thankful for His blessings.

Be awed by His unlimited, unconditional love, His unmerited, undeserved favour ~ poured out freely.

Rest from our labours and prepare to face a new tomorrow.

Receive manna and grace to begin again.

 

Full circle

/ Joy Lenton / Leave a comment

When life is painful and challenging, we are apt to forget its higher meaning and purpose.

Feel weighed down by the heaviness of our situations.

Our existence is intended to be rich and meaningful.

We are born to be in relationship with God, to love Him and love others as we live out our calling.

Each day of life is gift and grace. Each breath a miracle all its own.

A life can be summed up in three parts, with so much left unsaid ~ we are born; we live; we die.

Our lives lived in the dash twixt birth and death. In-between lies the fullness, colour, shades, variety of our days and ways.

Known intimately by the Author of Life Himself, shaped by His loving hands, made for His eternal purposes.

” Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you. The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.” ~ Psalm 139:16 The Message

We face a daily battle to escape darkness and an invitation to embrace Light.

Our choice is to make our days count ~ from now into eternity.

Live purposefully. Live well. Live like we could face God any moment.

Sharing 3 haiku today which symbolise the full circle of our existence.

birth haiku image pin

Life haiku image pin

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In transition

/ Joy Lenton / 15 Comments

We’re in a season of change.

Air stirs with sound familiar yet different. It’s like our ears remember the refrain but it doesn’t quite sound the same.

We’ve been laying fallow. Now we sense it is time to move forward.

Stretch limbs to sun, welcome warmth on upturned face, breathe easy.

New life springs forth from dead and dying. Darkness gives way to Light.

We see it in plant life. Sap surges and vitality rises from decay.

It is mirrored in our souls.

Each day is opportunity to start again.

Embrace change; embrace life, hope, healing, growth to come.

Yet.. while we waken, stir inwardly; while we make space for new, there is a growing pain.

Skin  cracks under the weight of it. Joints protest. Habits die hard and dig deeper.

Hope can fail us and discouragement sit heavy when we focus more on where we are now rather than where we can be.

We’re in transition from moth to butterfly and our souls ache to fly free.

In time, we will.

Hang in there, friend. There’s a hand waiting, reaching for yours, holding you safe as you wobble.

God has got you. And He’ll see you through every painful process of becoming all He intends you to be.

‘Transition’

You feel as if

you stand on the edge

of the abyss

tottering forward

on the precipice

I see you

as seed fallen

to the ground

ready to yield

its abounding harvest

Those things

which root you

to the earth

those pains

are pangs of new birth

You’re in a state

of transition

where you wait in position

as I ready to bring forth

hope of seeing Spring

I am training

you in love

before the raining

of my gifting

pours from heaven above

©JoyLenton2014

While we wait God is working on our behalf. We are being prepared for a destiny with an eternal perspective.

Keep trusting and believing. You are precious to Him . And though it may not look or feel like it yet ~ His timing is perfect.

*Bird photo credit:Image used courtesy of Kathy Snow

 

Joining here with Holley and other encouraging friends as we seek to offer #coffeeforyourheart

Also with Jennifer for #tellhisstory and with Lyli for #thoughtprovokingthursday

Love is speaking

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

Love speaks to us in myriad ways. Way beyond Valentine cards, roses and chocolates ~ welcome as they are.

There is heartache and elation, pain and promise, sadness and joy wrapped up in human love, circumscribed as it is by our woundedness.

We can be broken and made new by love.  God’s love heals, renews, restores and makes us whole.

The Word made flesh  revealed in Jesus offers us the gift of mercy, grace and forgiveness from His poured out blood-bought sacrifice.

We are eternally, unconditionally and wonderfully loved beyond anything we can know or imagine.

All creation continually signals the love of the Creator.

It is never silent because God is constantly pouring out His love to us.

He longs for us to know Him and discover we are deeply loved by Him. It’s the greatest love story ever told.

‘Love speaks’

Love speaks

As

an aching formless void, seeming nothingness

into which pours poetry, music, melody and noise

In

the echoes of a dream, vibrancy we glean

in everything we encounter, visible and unseen

So

we tune our hearts to hear soft whispers

on the wind tickling our attentive ears

With

longing breaking forth in our souls,

a sense of awe, wonder, becoming and belonging

 Begin

to make us feel complete, fulfilled, whole,

so we strain to draw close, come near

 To

the Source of all we could or would be

growing familiar as He starts to appear

 And

lingers to impart His light and grace from above

into thankful hearts made ready for His love

©JoyLenton2014

The video below is a love letter from the Father’s heart to our own.

It speaks volumes about how each and every one of us is deeply loved and special to God.

May it bless and encourage your heart as you watch it.

Linking here with Jennifer,  Lyli, Mel and Laura