touch: seeking to pay attention to God’s touch on our lives

April 26, 2019April 26, 2019 / Joy Lenton / 10 Comments

Each day we receive a touch from heaven above and intimations of God’s love. We discover shades of glory and grace pervading the everyday. We are wrapped in holy wonder as we live and move and have our being. And yet we might fail to notice it because we get too caught up in our difficulties and the daily minutiae.

Why don’t you take a few moments now to pause and be still? Let your soul breathe. Open your eyes to the wonder already hiding in plain sight. It is revealed in seemingly ordinary things that take on a holy significance as we focus and give thanks for them.

The relationships we have with the people in our lives can add a special touch and opportunity for joy. And physical touch itself is something we all need to some extent or other, especially from those we love.

It may come as an arm around your shoulder to say sorry or gently ask how you are. The hand stroking yours that gives comfort and reassurance. Fingers lightly brushing your cheek or lips joining together. The hugs that speak volumes. They are all markers of grace and moments of wonder in their own right.

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ― Leo F. Buscaglia

In the poem below I am sharing thoughts from my memories and history, about the first date I had with my husband. It’s a tanka sequence poem that speaks about the power of touch to a human soul and what a difference it makes to know we are loved.

“Touch has a memory.” ― John Keats

Benediction

illuminate
moonlight strokes lightly over glass
like an artist
painting her joy with colours
music of the mind and heart

I receive it
my soul is hungry for light
I feel it
marking me inwardly
a soul lover’s caress

this glow
emanating from night’s depths
touches me
more than a mere glimpse reveals
it causes an awakening

thoughts stir
memories of past years
when I took
a moonlight walk with my beloved
sauntering by the riverside

water lapped
licking at roots of weeping willow
bowed low
like the shy maiden I was
barely lifting her head up

boats chugged
drifting with winter tides
our love
was but a new, tender shoot
fragile and easily bruised

I hesitated
uncertain about his feelings then
we held hands
warmth infused my cold fingers
it was enough to sustain us

we smiled
grateful for each slow touch
it ignited
hope, with sparks of wonder, trust
this fledgling love would grow and last

and now
I look outside my window
watch the moon
still shining on our small world
slivers of silver unfurled

I smile
no hesitation in my mind
this life
full of holy benediction
will always be his and mine
© joylenton

It feels good to be back here again after my break! 🙂 Though it took me more than five minutes to write, I am linking my poem with the fabulous five-minute-friday crew who are sharing their thoughts on this week’s prompt of “touch.” Now let us praise the One who touches us with His glory and grace and gives us the power to love and touch other lives for good.

reliquaries: how our hearts become repositories of God’s grace

March 29, 2019 / Joy Lenton / 10 Comments

When I think of reliquaries as defined by shrines or ancient holy relics, then it causes me to marvel even more at the way God entrusted His sacred self to be housed within our souls. The bare bones of holy breath get to take up residence in souls of dust. We cannot ever measure the depth or extent of it in our minds or lives.

But we can become aware of the measures God has taken to connect with us. Because the bible reveals the awe-inspiring holy wonder of Easter, when Jesus came to live on earth, die for us and dwell forever in our hearts. Though we have our part to play in receiving His presence, as we recognise the barriers of our bad behaviour, turn away from those things and embrace His mercy and grace.

God doesn’t force entry into our hearts. We can resist, ignore, tell Him to go away. Or we can open up, confess our sin and failure and invite Him to come in. God gave us life and breath, and He waits patiently for us to recognise our need of His immeasurable, unconditional love so that He can fully inhabit our hearts.

“…I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands…” — Ezekiel 36:26-27 The Message

Reliquaries

containers exist
buried within our hearts
they’re time capsules
holy reliquaries
recessed deep, accessed by faith

bare bones
of old truth eternal
sit beached
inside our dusty souls
hidden but within reach

tablets of stone
were split, separated
at Moses’ hands
cast down in anger, breaking
of God’s holy commands

no relic now
we’ve been given a new law
it’s written on
human hearts as conscience
which we can choose to ignore

love becomes
the measure of his given grace
our sentience
is not a sentence we bear
but a state that spells release
© joylenton

I’m grateful to be linking my poem with the fabulous five-minute-friday writing crew gathering at Kate Motaung’s place. You are welcome to join us here as we write on this week’s prompt of “measure”, and read the great posts being shared.

Friends, I’m needing to pause my poetic thoughts for a few weeks in order to visit family, celebrate Easter and rest. Meanwhile, you might like to take a look at my latest book, which is an eclectic collection of poetry, soul exhale reflections and blessings. Perhaps you could treat yourself to it for Easter or Mothering Sunday/Mother’s Day? It’s called Embracing Hope: Soul Food to Help Chase Away the Blues and it’s available now on Amazon Kindle. A paperback copy will follow in due course.

“Are you in need of a fresh infusion of hope? Could you use some help to regain the hope you’ve lost? Because when life gets tough, especially if we’re chronically sick or simply low and discouraged, hope can be hard to muster or hold on to. This gentle soul companion guide will help steer you in the right direction..”

May you have a blessed Easter break. I look forward to catching up with you again on April 26th or soon after, God willing. 🙂 ❤ xox

search: seeking sacred traces in our lives

March 1, 2019 / Joy Lenton / 16 Comments

I’ve been on a search. All my life. But I didn’t always know it. It began in childhood, as I reclined on grass, looking upwards, with drifting angels in my eyes. Even floaters took on a spiritual significance in my child heart that ached to be somewhere else.

We have been hardwired to seek after truth, to yearn for beauty beyond ourselves and to want more than this earth can provide. It’s a holy space, a vacuum nothing else can fill. Although we might ignore it, or try to stuff it to the gills with earthly pleasures and desires, it remains. An eternal longing that never quite goes away.

My eyes were finally opened to the heart of God beating within when I was in my late teens. My search for unconditional love, affirmation and acceptance was found in Christ. His love still overwhelms my soul. The miracle is that He seeks us out first.

God’s love also opened my eyes to search more diligently for the living reality of His presence with us, His sacred footsteps in our midst. Because those who seek will find. Those who are thirsty will be satisfied. Our deepest soul ache and emptiness is assuaged and filled by being in relationship with God.

“Ask, and you will be given what you ask for. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Anyone who seeks, finds. If only you will knock, the door will open.” – Matthew 7:7-8 (TLB)

Talking glory

Can it really be that we can see the glory of God?
Is it truly revealed to fallen, sinful us?

What is the glory we can encounter if we believe?
Is it nothing less than the faith in Christ we receive?

Or is there so much more to explore, to experience,
while we live and move and have our ordinary being?

Scripture speaks about God’s glory as his goodness and love,
as seen in his character and revealed in Jesus on earth.

It’s the essence of his all-encompassing presence.
It’s the heartbeat of heaven and a gift that is given.

It’s light immortal, unapproachable, hid from our eyes.
It’s a revelation of holy wonder, unalloyed delight.

It’s waiting to be discovered by human hearts, opening
up to us like the sudden blossoming of desert flowers.

It’s an enigma, indecipherable by our finite minds, making
us search hopefully for answers for the rest of our lives.

It’s a holy response to a human being, a spiritual quest
that leaves us breathless with awe and has no ending.

It’s who God is and how he shines, sparkling in rivers
and through bright sunset rays, full of heat and energy.

It’s a call to action, stirring our souls into liveliness.
It’s a deep revelation of God’s great power and grace.

“Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you believe [in Me], you will see the glory of God [the expression of His excellence]?'” – John 11:40 (AMP)

Thankfully, you don’t have to search far to find a fantastic writing community. Come join me as I add my poem to the five-minute-friday writers gathering here to offer their thoughts on the prompt “search”. Where are you seeing the heartbeat of heaven? Do share in the comments below. 🙂

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Poetry Joy

sensing the sacred in the everyday

#holywonder