grace

privilege: the wonder of surrendering our lives to Jesus

/ Joy Lenton / 17 Comments

 

My husband often jokes that I have a hot-line to heaven, the privilege of seeing my prayers answered more than he does. Maybe it’s because I see no limitations in what I pray about, including minor things, such as obtaining parking spaces and finding lost objects – yes, really!

I didn’t grow up in a privileged way or with any sense of entitlement. On the contrary, my background prepared me for the school of hard knocks I’ve been in for the majority of my life. Yet threaded through it all, often in intangible ways, God’s goodness and grace have been the backbone of everything I have experienced.

Although it might have taken me years to really appreciate it, I am discovering that time and hindsight are uncovering the enormous privilege it is to be a beloved child of God and a woman of faith who, despite her obvious weaknesses and glaring inadequacies, has been given the privilege of living and witnessing for Him.

I have the privilege

I have the privilege of being a writer and poet
who God works through to minister to others
while I pour out my heart, witness to his work deep
within and seek to encourage them to trust in him

I have the privilege of being a child of God
who is wrapped round tight with his infinite
love, made safe and secure by his mercy and
held closer than I am aware of or can see

I have the privilege of being a woman of faith
with God’s holy grace filling and flooding my
days, and his forgiveness readily available
for every sin I might commit, and those
I don’t even know about yet

I have the privilege of being able to pray
minute by minute throughout the day, as I
yield and surrender my heart and soul to my
burden-bearing Lord, and watch how wonderfully
he lifts my cares and pain, while restoring me
gently back to wholeness again
©joylenton

**I also have the privilege of a 5 minute poem arising in response to this week’s #FMF prompt of ‘privilege’. You are very welcome to come join us here and read the wide variety of posts being shared.** 🙂 

warmed: cold hearts are warmed by God’s amazing love

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

 

We’re on the threshold of an arrival. Are we waiting with eager expectation or indifference? Although external temperatures might be low, are we being warmed on the inside by the thought of Christ’s immanence with us?

Will we greet Jesus with joy? Or might we ignore Him, like a sideshow we don’t have  time for as we busy ourselves with preparations? It’s possible to press our noses close to the manger, be captivated by the Nativity, yet miss the wonder of the infant Incarnate Christ within.

Will we allow our cold, wintry hearts to become warmed by the love of God? I hope so. Because He desires our heart’s devotion above all things and longs for us to open the door to Him.

I am like most of you: knee-deep in extra busyness, weary while waiting and exhausted by the preparation. But as I pause to ponder just what we are about to celebrate and Who this feast is really about, I see how easy it can be to slide into secularism and neglect the most important thing.

Maybe, as we wrap presents, ready ourselves to exchange gifts and attend to last-minute activities, we can try to focus our attention on recognising the presence of God in our midst.

Because He breathes out His beauty every day. He is ready to rule and reign, starting with one surrendered heart at a time. Jesus is the Gift. Jesus is all we ever truly need. 

I have taken an imaginary winter walk in the sonnet below. Come join me? Together we can discover grace being showered on us liberally like snow from heaven above, thawing out our chilled, distracted hearts.

Hearts are warmed

We walk, crunching grass crystal shards beneath our feet,
Seeing hoar frost sparkle like diamonds twinkling in the dark,
While air swirls breath into a misted fog and fingertips freeze.
Icy ground is too frozen hard for footsteps to leave a mark
But these wintry sights enliven a chilled environment.
And hearts are warmed by creation’s breathed out beauty
Where heaven’s wings touch earth out of love, not duty,
And sprinkle shining stardust by angelic intent.
Maybe the human mind should wonder on seeing snow,
Become captivated and charmed by how a landscape
Can alter in a moment, setting cold hearts aglow,
Initiating a thaw within, making way for God’s grace.
A melting of minds begins a bonfire of the vanities,
Whereby space is created to believe and receive.
©joylenton

Dear friends, I hope and pray you will have a happy and blessed Christmas celebration, with your hearts warmed by God’s amazing love. I’ll be sharing my 4th Sunday in Advent poem on Poetry Joy’s Facebook page this weekend, then I am taking a break until the new year. You can read the offering to come and catch up with the rest of the Advent poems here. Lots of love, Joy xo ❤

story: owning the story of our lives #thedailyhaiku 31

/ Joy Lenton / 17 Comments

 

I’ve lost count of the number of times I have wanted to disown the story I am living, rewrite it differently and choose an alternative narrative arc. Maybe you have too. So what does owning our story look like? 

As a woman of faith, I venture to suggest it looks like seeing our lives as a small but highly significant part of God’s greater narrative. In the story He is telling throughout history, we all have a part to play. You matter. Your life isn’t a mistake or an accident.

I grew up thinking (hoping?) I must have been adopted, such was the disconnect between me and my family of origin. Later on, hearing how my mother had taken measures to try to stop the pregnancy from continuing, my insecure feelings grew stronger.

Then God happened. He’d been there right at conception, of course, planned for me to live at such a time as this, to be born into the generation I belong to and the family where I arose from but failed to see myself as cherished.

I was born prematurely and against the odds. I was meant to be here. And to survive whatever life threw at me. I was also born to bloom and thrive because of belonging to the family of God. 

Once I came to faith in Christ, my  wounded soul brokenness was no surprise to Him, only a recognisable state we all struggle with to varying degrees. I finally woke up to the fact that I was unconditionally loved—by Almighty God Himself.

It has taken me a while to own the story of my life, filled with brokenness and emotional pain as the years have been, plus decades of health challenges. But that’s only viewing it from a purely human perspective.

Now I am able to see how God poured out His mercy and grace, loved me immeasurably, tenderly wiped away the tears and gave me a brand new start through Jesus.

I am incredibly blessed to have a husband who adores me, a loving family and close friends. I no longer want to disown the story of my life. Instead, I am willing to speak out about how much God has changed and glorified it by His grace. And He will do it for you too, my friend.

Owning my story

I claim this story
the life I live, holding it
shyly—out to you

you gather pieces
of my brokenness and give
them back to me—whole

and in your eyes, wide
as the ocean swells, I see
sweet mercy and grace

caught in a net of love
with no thought of escape, here
I will stay—always
©joylenton

We’ve made it! This is the last post in #thedailyhaiku series for October’s #write31days marathon reading/writing challenge. It’s been a joy and sweet encouragement to have your company here. Thank you! If you want to catch up with the rest of the posts, please click here.  And look out for a surprise bonus tomorrow!  🙂 ❤

denudement: paring back to necessities #thedailyhaiku 30

/ Joy Lenton / 4 Comments

 

Trees are slowly becoming divested of their covering. Layers are being removed by the elements. It’s a stripping off, losing a covering of leaves, a paring back to skeletal form, especially as wintry winds take hold.

There’s a strange kind of bare-bones beauty in the removal of a tree’s raiment, decorative as it is. Twisted branches speak of weight-bearing under strain, with an arthritic suggestion extending to the depleted spindliness of twigs, one I can relate to in my own weakened frame, with joints distorted by arthritis.

Life itself has a way of paring us back, and we notice it in particular when our bodies grow slack and bones protrude with lengthening years. It’s as if we are being issued with a salutary reminder that life consists of so much more than the physical. Which it does, of course.

Then I think of how stiff and resistant our souls can become, needing the wild winds of Holy Spirit to blow upon them like a wake up call. Extraneous leaves that have littered our thinking are denuded. We are brought back to simple necessities.

We learn how it is always better for us to remain pliant and flexible in spirit, able to surrender, bend and stretch to life’s challenges, aided by God’s grace. His Holy tune is the one that plays on human hearts. We are encouraged to listen to what it is saying and to yield to the wind of heavenly Love as it shapes us from season to season.

denudement

arthritic branches
bend and stretch to wind’s wild tune
denuding their leaves
©joylenton

grace: a drenching in holy rain #thedailyhaiku 26

/ Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

 

God is lavish with His Love, magnanimous with His Mercy, perfect with His Peace, jubilant with His Joy, free with His Forgiveness and wildly generous with His Grace.

We don’t have to beg for it. We don’t have to worry that it will run short. God’s grace is freely available to all of us, all of the time. How good is that?!

We can easily become saturated by grace, like a drenching in Holy rain. This is no mere trickle or a small shower. This is more like a flood, a pounding waterfall that roars with power.

What does it do? Here’s a brief description:

  • God’s grace takes, breaks and remakes us.
  • We are washed clean from our sin.
  • We are changed from the inside out.
  • Grace sustains and strengthens, knits together and mends.
  • All that is weak and wounded, flawed and faulty, broken and bent in us is gradually rewired, renewed, restored and refreshed.

Why do I call God’s grace wild? Because it’s so indiscriminately and generously given, untameable , out of our control. We don’t have to pass a test or do anything else to be deemed worthy of being washed in God’s grace. All qualify. Period. For all time.

In a very real sense, you could say that God’s grace is wasted on us because that’s exactly what it is. Not one of us has done anything to deserve grace. It is literally God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense, bought and paid for at the Cross, poured out freely on us.

wild grace

there’s a wildness here
a drenching in holy rain
we are rewired, changed
©joylenton

our dark universe is a velvet eternity school for love #thedailyhaiku 10

/ Joy Lenton / 23 Comments

 

We watch diamond-bright stars glinting like tiny jewels set with precision and perfection in an inky, indigo velvet sky and it takes our breath away. Darkness of night always makes the light shine brighter than before. Every shaded thing makes brighter colours sing.

And as we gaze into the heavens, or look closer to home and observe tiny pearlescent beads of dew coating flowers and leaves,  and ponder just Whose caring hand is behind every created thing, we become filled with awe, wonder and gratitude towards our Creator-God for spilling His treasure so lavishly on earth.

Each plant and flower, every drop of rain that falls, all the shining stars and lustrous planets in the universe are tokens and expressions of God’s great Love being made manifest for us. There is spiritual intent behind the daily graces we often take for granted.

Earth can seem so dark at times, filled with so much sadness and pain, yet these symbols are significant in revealing God’s steadiness and faithfulness, as He holds them out to us as a holy offering again and again. In the seeing, with eyes renewed by faith, we begin to trace His love spilling forth in large ways and small, just as we are meant to do.

a velvet eternity

our dark universe

a velvet eternity

it’s a school for love

©joylenton

when shame becomes changed by meeting grace

/ Joy Lenton / 21 Comments

 

It’s a comforting thought to know Jesus understands us completely and can see into the depths of our soul. Though we might feel shame at what He will find as His gaze scans those deep, dark layers we prefer to keep hidden from ourselves and others.

During my long weeks of obscurity, hidden away from the blogging community, resting physically, I’ve been very aware that only God really knew and understood the sheer weight of weakness, worry and weariness of mind, body and heart I was struggling with. And only He held the key to recovering deep soul peace and restoration in every way.

I was grateful to be able to work through my need for grace without an audience. I was thankful that God not only lured me gently away from busyness but also knew just when I would be well enough to slowly reenter the public arena again.

Shame becomes exponentially multiplied when our guilt is laid bare and dark deeds are made public. So I’ve always had a certain sympathy for the woman caught in the act of adultery, driven unceremoniously through the streets for all to see.

The Pharisees watch carefully, hoping to trap Jesus into acting unwisely. The crowd also hold their breath as they wait to see what the Messiah will do. He pauses, takes His time to react. And when He does it takes all by surprise, as Jesus reveals the forgiving, merciful heart of God, the way He graciously answers our shame and pain.

An unwavering light

His kind, limpid-liquid gaze brushed mine

like fine, pellucid pearls glowing

lantern-bright—a steady, unwavering

light—reading the depths of my soul

 

He didn’t recoil; rather, he looked

with love, compassion, deep understanding

as though he already knew everything good

bad or indifferent there was to know

 

And I barely lifted my head, kept my

sight glued to ground, where I had been

so carelessly thrown, used to feeling shamed

by those whose eyes scathingly sought mine

 

Yet this Man stooped down, wrote silently upon parched

dusty ground, spoke in surprisingly soft, gentle tones

which carried the authority of God Almighty

making cowards of others—drawing gratitude from me

©joylenton

The wonder of it all is that Jesus still works in human hearts like this. His forgiveness, mercy and grace are rich and free, paid for by His own spilt blood at Calvary. And it brings us up short, as we see our need to follow Christ’s example by being loving, compassionate and merciful toward others.

My friend, you and I are precious to Jesus, oh so valuable and definitely worth dying for in His eyes. Let’s reflect on the weight of glory in that thought, and on such tender compassion rendering us speechless, or issuing praise from us.

“Of course, no one believed in people more than Jesus did. He saw something in Peter worth developing, in the adulterous woman worth forgiving, and in John worth harnessing.” Max Lucado ‘God Is With You Everyday’

ME: what it’s like to live with ME and chronic illness

/ Joy Lenton / 21 Comments

 

How do you describe a life of continual illness, pain and profound fatigue? It’s hard, isn’t it?  We need empathy, compassion, and maybe someone who lives with the illness to show us. I’d like to be that person for you today.

Imagine wanting to be a vibrant, blooming flower for God, but you droop, fade easily, curl up with fatigue. You seek shade, because all bright light hurts your eyes. Sleep is fitful but it’s all you really want to do. So called ‘normal’ life is far too dazzling, hectic and loud for you to join in with for very long.

“Yes, I have M.E but it doesn’t have me; God does, and I am safe in His arms.” So runs the last line from a poem I penned to try to describe my life with M.E. Spanning over 25 years of sickness and weakness, M.E might have stolen my health and vitality but it doesn’t get to have the final say on who I am or, more importantly, Whose I am.

I’m housebound with M.E, fibromyalgia, arthritis and hypermobility syndrome. (You can see the myriad symptoms of M.E in this list.) I rely heavily on God’s sustaining grace each day. I also have a Lottery winner tendency to spend, spend, spend whenever a little more energy or mental focus is present, instead of the usual resting and pacing after any activity!

 

As a writer and a poet I’m able to express some of the frustrations of living with such an illness. I’m hoping, as you read the poem below, that you might stop to contemplate just what M.E can feel like on this, M.E Awareness Day, part of raised awareness during the month of May.

Earthbound

A mind

blurred as fog

cloud of unknowing

sinking bog

slowed and stagnant

just tiny ripples rising

from the smog

vague on the horizon

 

A body

wearied beyond measure

bandage-bound

by pain, fatigue

long and profound

unrelenting weakness

rooting to the ground

muscle-chained down

 

A heart 

longing to be free

like eagles soaring

near the sun

to touch the heat

of healing rays

piercing us undone

from darkest days

 

A spirit

lifted up by love’s call

taken up to places

out of reach of all

that holds us prisoner

to the earth

united to the One 

who gives us life and birth

©joylenton

The poem above comes from my book, ‘Seeking Solace: Discovering Grace in Life’s Hard Places’, available on Amazon. Earthbound was actually its working title for a while. All proceeds from every copy sold go to Action for ME, a charity which raises awareness and supports carers and sufferers, while raising funds for research purposes.

Last year I wrote about life from the other side of living with M.E and chronic illness, singing my beloved husband’s praises as my carer. It was written before he became even more unwell himself. You can read that post here.

Thank you for being here, my friend, and for reading my words. Your sweet presence helps and encourages this weary woman more than you know!  🙂 ❤

eyes: looking for the eternal rainbow of hope

/ Joy Lenton / 10 Comments

 

Our eyes swivel with hope, desiring to discern wonder, keen to see how Mystery pervades the everyday. A rainbow is seen as a sign of hope and blessing. In biblical terms, it reveals God’s eternal covenant with mankind. We also see it as a marker of His glory and splendour.

The eyes of our heart slowly become awakened by God’s glory and grace, made aware of His penetration of everything. For our heavenly Father eagerly desires us to discover and be drawn into relationship with Him.

We begin to chase the rainbow of Holy Light, seeking to unearth deep treasure hidden within the pages of Scripture. Because a shaded life is made bright by grace. 

As we trace Christ’s steps to Calvary, become awed by His risen resurrection victory, we begin to see the cost of so great a salvation—abundant, lavish, rich and free.

Gradually, we are transformed from the inside out, enlivened by God’s grace, given a brand new start, new life, new heart. No longer are we in a driven race for success but in a place of deep, abiding soul rest.

The darkness within is a result of sin, as we wrestle with our flawed desires and the heat of them. But God has paved The Way for us to become reunited with Him. A road of Love, a public pathway of Christ’s freely spilt and poured out blood.

Who will quench the fire?

Behold our desires

like hot eyes of flame inside

Who will quench the fire?

©joylenton

 

God’s eyes roam throughout the whole earth. He sees you and me and we look lovely in His sight, viewed as we are through the lens of unconditional Love, a beautiful mirrored reflection of His Son.

Dart of love

We are beholden

God’s sharp, keen-eyed dart of love

has pierced our armour

©joylenton

 

Once we have tasted God’s glory and grace, it makes us hungry to know more. Our inner and outer eyes become better attuned to His presence with us, even as they yearn for the Day when Jesus returns physically to earth in full power and splendour.

We behold glory

We behold glory

Hearts fill with wonder—eyes see

Jesus is with us

©joylenton

 

The words above were inspired by this week’s haiku challenge prompt of ‘Behold&Eye’, set by our Poet Master, Ronovan. Just click here to read the great posts being shared and join in if you want to have a go!  🙂

love: Christ bears infinite love and grace on a cross

/ Joy Lenton / 16 Comments

 

We’re at the point of no return on our Lenten journey. A Holy happening is imminent. The day we call Good Friday has arrived. God’s eternal, infinite, unconditional Love is hanging on a cross, made a public spectacle and disgrace for us.

Jesus is marred, pierced, blood-stained and, briefly, just beyond His Father’s reach. The day has dawned when sin meets Saviour, mankind meets its Maker, and our guilt, shame and pain are nailed to a cross of wood, held in place by Love alone, His amazing grace about to be made known.

We can only watch and wonder, our minds unable to fully fathom or clearly comprehend what we see. Our Holy God poured out for you and me….

Bearing infinite love

Jesus, you see faces, look into souls, hear the heartbeat

of every person on the street. You don’t see a faceless throng

pressing together like a swarming sea of anonymity

Even those who barely give you a glance, and those who

sneer, swear or spit as you carry your cross, filled with

venom, hate, while you bear only infinite love and grace

 

How can it be that you bear them no grudge, not even

an ounce of animosity, your heart contracted in love

laced with waves of pity? Yet you know it is their sin

pinning you to a cross, their rage ripping your back

to shreds, their nameless hate nailing your helpless

hands as you reach out, surrendered to your fate

 

And as blood pours from your many wounds, you are

wounded more by the unaccustomed distance, a cloud

between you and your Father, as he has to turn his face

away from his sin-bearing Son, leaving you alone

for the first time—you feel distant and lost—as you

hang limp, wretched, almost ready to give up the ghost

 

Finally, the darkness steals into your soul, making you writhe

within, and you know it won’t be long before you cry

it is finished, and mankind’s release has been secured

by your poured out blood. You gasp out your holy sigh and

rest in death’s embrace for a while—as skies darken and a

curtain is rent to signal the start of a new, living covenant

©joylenton2017

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” ~ Isaiah 53:4-5