poetry

when joy arrives like a surprise guest

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

write31days-journeying-into-joy-joy-unexpected

 

Joy waits for us in every circumstance. It is seen by those with hungry hearts and observant eyes, able to view the crumbs and corners of each day from God’s perspective.

We receive daily grace gifts like manna in the wilderness, soul sustenance and supply. Yet we can so easily miss or overlook their appearing, neglect to take note of God’s goodness toward us.

Like a good friend stealing toward us, unnoticed at first, then greeted with delighted enthusiasm, joy also comes to us with sudden softness, appearing unexpectedly to brighten up our days as we welcome it in.

Joy is like a garden plant appearing to spring up overnight because we had somehow missed seeing it while it was growing, but now it stands out as something bright and beautiful, suddenly become a bold feast for the eye and a flag of hope to revive a flagging faith.

Joy often comes without warning, breaking through the bad with a holy contentment, a comforting warm glow within despite the chill of painful circumstances, the dirge of our daily grind.

We are asked to pause, be still and savour its entry, marvel at how joy has the ability to alter our thinking as we keep a conscious reminder of its presence hidden in our midst, hovering on the edge of everything.

The poem below is an attempt to describe the ephemeral nature of joy sometimes. Though we have constant access to it, our situations, thoughts and feelings can cause us to have blind-spots to its presence.

A surprise guest

She slips soft into

my consciousness

like morning rain

dew-fall from heaven

both manna and leaven

 

Arriving like a surprise guest

expecting a warm welcome

for her sudden appearance

though unglimpsed in the distance

 

My cold heart remains wary

reacts slow, suspicious

opens its door — hesitant

then leaves it ajar because

I can sense a soul awakening

 

a life-giving kiss breathing

within as she stirs memories

where hope’s embers linger, now

enlivened by joy-steeped fingers

©JoyLenton2015

*Note* – this poem first appeared on my writer friend, Barry Pearman’s ‘Turning the Page’ blog where I was guest posting last year.

31-days-of-journeying-into-joy-badge

Welcome to #day25 of #write31days of journeying into joy

I’m truly thankful you are here as we draw this series to a close! I’d love to hear how are you seeing and sensing joy in your own life. Feel free to chime in with the comments below.

write31days-journeying-into-joy-joy-unexpected-a-surprise-guest

joy in developing happiness habits

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

write31days-journeying-into-joy-developing-happiness-habits

 

An open cup greets me from this proteus flower. It’s a reminder to be just as open and aware, as receptive to God’s light, love mercy and grace in life’s daily spaces. I long to be alert and open to joy in my daily grind, to awaken to wonder, look for the soul sustenance it provides while I seek to offer hope and encouragement to others.

It’s not always easy, is it? Joy may be like a fragrant bouquet blooming in our hearts and homes but we need eyes to see it and a disposition of openness to receive it. Clenched fists, sour thoughts and ungrateful hearts are not well placed to receive such a  gift.

The poem below grew out of a hunger to live with open hands, mind and heart…

Welcome

Good morning, new day

I want to welcome you

with arms wide open

I long to make room

in every receptive way

for your ordinary wonder

and let hope bloom strong

within by gift of grace

©JoyLenton2016

It takes grace to even begin to see the gift of joy seeping into our days. We remain blind to these things without a holy opening.

But there are ways to help ourselves, to train eye and soul in the pursuit of joy. It takes a deliberate desire, a willing spirit and an ability to be patient while we nurture the seed of joy within.

“You prepare for the journey to a happier life by nourishing your heart with truth, beauty and love, by filling your soul with forgiveness and letting go, by changing to become the authentic person you were created to be” ~ Daniel O’Leary  ‘The Happiness Habit’

Maybe it also includes these 4 ‘A’s to finding deeper joy:

  • Acceptance instead of resistance – to God’s will and work in us
  • Adaptation rather than consternation – when life hits hard
  • Awareness more than ignorant bliss – by searching the Scriptures for God’s take on this
  • Appreciation over resignation – having an attitude of gratitude in all things

“I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart” ~ Psalms 40:8 NLT

The longer we linger in God’s presence, the more joy filled and joyful we will become.

“Splendour and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place” ~ 1 Chronicles 16:27 NIV

We can rejoice in God’s daily help, strength and protection.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield: my heart trusts in him and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him” ~ Psalm 28:7 NIV

Praise and worship lend themselves to another blog post for another day, such is their effect on maintaining joy. But I hope and pray you will be blessed by today’s reflection.

31-days-of-journeying-into-joy-badge

Welcome to #day22 of #write31days of journeying into joy! Thank you for keeping me company here.

Please feel free to share your own happiness habits in the comments below. 

write31days-journeying-into-joy-happiness-habits-welcome-poem

enjoying a feast of grace gifts

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

write31days-journeying-into-joy-a-feast-of-grace-gifts-travel

 

While we are being encouraged to ‘Go Sober for October’, slide ever closer toward ‘Movember’ and anticipate ‘Dry January’, this month is fast becoming ‘Wet-tober’ for us. As a family we have extra cause for raising our glasses in celebration, because our daughters-in-law have birthdays this month. One of them is celebrating a particularly significant year, and the other also has a new job to rejoice over – cheers all round!

And as we think about the passing of time, our days are being framed by a continual downpour of rain. In learning to enjoy the journey I am on, I’m also finding ways to love the life I have. Part of that includes appreciation for seemingly small things, life’s little moments and everyday marvels which are so easily missed or go unmarked.

This summer we had an enforced stay-cation where housebound took on a whole new level of feeling like we’re missing out. So each short journey currently undertaken in the car feels like a triumph of sorts, a cause for celebration – yes, even when it pours with rain! The poem below emerged after such an outing  when visiting our elder son and his wife.

It reminds me that in every life a little rain will fall, heavy clouds will temporarily obliterate the sun, days may feel dark and cool, but light and warmth and love and joy are close by, just waiting to be found by receptive heart and eye…

A veritable feast

write31days-journeying-into-joy-a-feast-of-grace-gifts-rain-while-driving

 

Day’s brightness reluctantly gave way

to leaden grey, as skies poured forth

water from heaven’s hoses; sprayed

liberally now on car windscreen,

washing road, gleaming drops sit

on leaves with pearlescent glow

write31days-journeying-into-joy-a-feast-of-grace-gifts-emerging-rainbow

 

And I watched in wonder while clouds

parted to reveal vivid rainbow

curve of colour; God’s reminder

to Noah of flood. Then his everlasting

covenant with Abraham – made manifest

to us in Jesus Christ’s sacrificed blood

write31days-journeying-into-joy-a-feast-of-grace-gifts-rainbow

 

Joy has already embraced me

in hugs with family, shared news,

coffee and chocolates, exchange

of views and provisions from their

abundant garden. A veritable

feast for us to journey homeward with

write31days-journeying-into-joy-collage-of-grace-gifts

 

We can soon become replete when

considering God’s daily grace gifts

seen in sky, its ever changing scenery

altering by the hour. Or found in

goodness closer to  ground, in our home,

friends and family – in every living thing

©JoyLenton2016

PS: Just in case you are curious to know more, here’s some info on Go Sober for October, how to become  involved in Movember, and a little bit about Dry January in the UK. Wet-tober is a phrase I’ve coined today, though it may well be in use for all I know!

31-days-of-journeying-into-joy-badge

Welcome to #day21 of #write31days of journeying into joy.

What are you seeing, appreciating or celebrating this month? I’d love to hear in the comments below.

write31days-journeying-into-joy-a-feast-of-grace-gifts-rain

we can still rise with singed wings

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

write31days-journeying-into-joy-we-can-still-rise-with-singed-wings

 

The hot flames of fiery trials and afflictions can sear the life out of us. We feel battered, bruised and burnt. Maybe you’re going through some hard stuff right now and wondering just when it will end, as life causes you to fade and lose your lustre.

Sometimes we forget that we are not alone in the heat of it all. Jesus is in the fire with us. Though He may not always rescue us miraculously, He does promise the protection of His constant presence, the comfort of His peace in the midst of our pain and problems.

How does joy fit into all of this? Surely it’s an unlikely pairing with pain? Yes and no. We feel joyless and so do our circumstances, but we cannot have the continual presence of Jesus without His joy rubbing off on us.

It’s always there, always available. Our task is to see and sense its presence, the way joy waits on the other side of sorrow and sadness, sits with grief and partners us in pain.

Joy isn’t a feeling, it’s a faith thing, a spiritual gift and grace. We don’t have to try to muster up joyful feelings, only snuggle closer to our Saviour. Because He is the repository of every good thing, the anchor for our aching hearts, the balm to calm our storms.

When we’re seeking solace, we need look no further than Jesus. Sure, we do tend to seek it elsewhere, grope for hope in other people and other things, and sometimes they help for a while. But lasting hope and help are found in God, no-one and nothing else.

With singed wings

I want to bypass hard and sharp,

miss the shards of glass piercing me

Only joy can cut a bright path

through dark, press past all our pain

 

and sit waiting with expectancy

for us to shake off grey dust

and all that clings tenaciously

 

We rise again with phoenix

of hope – blazing us clean

as we finally find our feet,

climb free with singed wings

©JoyLenton2016

There is still beauty to be found in the ashes of these dying back days, the paring away of vitality. God sees that in us too. We are just as precious to God, whether lively or weak, vibrant or dulled by pain. He just holds us all the more tenderly as we lean closer to Him and the safety of His loving embrace.

31-days-of-journeying-into-joy-badgeWelcome to #day15 of #31days of journeying into joy. Thank you for following along. I am praying for you all as we undertake this journey.

If anyone would like to share their current challenges, you can do so in the comments below, or message me privately. Bless you for being here, friend.

write31days-journeyingintojoy-we-can-still-rise-high-with-singed-wings

hope and joy in the midst of sadness

/ Joy Lenton / 21 Comments

write31days-journeying-into-joy-hope-and-joy-in-the-midst-of-sadness

 

I listened, cradling phone to ear, trying to digest the news. A long-lost cousin had managed to track me down to say my uncle (her father) had passed away and the funeral was scheduled for the next day.

She had left it deliberately late to pass on the information, because she knew what a long journey it would be for me, and the strong likelihood of my being too unfit to travel – right on both counts.

When I came off the phone, having stayed calm in my concern for her and the rest of the family, I couldn’t help tears flowing freely when I related the news to my husband. He held me close as I cried.

My cousin had a year to adjust herself to the prospect of losing her father, fearing the worst many times over the last few months. But I had blissfully assumed he and his wife were still enjoying a fairly active retirement, pottering about in their beautiful garden, the joy of their lives.

Memories and sadness sat with me as the day slowly unwound. I went out into the garden for a breath of air and a brief time of prayer. God always meets with and speaks to me most through creation.

With eyes downcast, I was well placed to spot a feather flying with the wind. I snapped a few photos, hoping to capture those moments when ground was its mattress. And this is what emerged…

As a white flag

Spotting a white feather on the ground

is often seen as a sign of God saying

‘I do not forget’ as he gently whispers

his balm to our broken hearts

 

When I stepped outside for a while,

needing air to breathe as I assimilated

news of a relative’s demise, feeling low

and aching inside with sad hollowness,

 

before long I spied this feathery

friend beckoning me as wind tossed her

hither and thither, and I shivered

in an autumnal breeze, hugging myself

 

with folded arms to ward off the cold

It felt like God was speaking soft into

my emptiness, reminding me how much

 

heaven aches in sympathy with us

And how his bright light feathers down

sometimes, as white flag lying on the ground

©JoyLenton2016

“For his anger is but for a moment; his favour is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning” ~ Psalm 30:5 NRSV

What is the joy we have in the morning? I believe it’s realising we are accompanied in our sadness and sorrow. There is no experience we go through which is out of the reach of God’s love and compassion.

God holds out a flame of hope in painful circumstances, a balm of peace and calm. He brings unexpected joy and strength back to hurting hearts. He is the lifter of our head, Comforter for wounded souls.

Getting through grief can be painful and lengthy, especially when we lose close loved ones. Scripture reassures us that  joy will return, difficult as it is to believe when we’re grieving. We will have days where we can see light breaking through, sense God’s comforting presence, as we gradually begin to smile and laugh again.

As I mourn my uncle’s passing, I think about how we often take life for granted. May I suggest you hug your loved ones closer today, appreciate their presence in your life?

write31days-journeying-into-joy-hope-and-joy-in-the-midst-of-sadness-poem

 

31-days-of-journeying-into-joy-badge

Welcome to #day14 of #write31days of journeying into joy. You can access #day13 over at wordsofjoy.me where I am sharing a few posts in this series. To catch my reflection on beauty and butterflies, please click here... How have you experienced hope or joy in the midst of life’s painful circumstances? Please share in the comments below, so we can pray for one another.

Hope manifests in Jesus

/ Joy Lenton / 18 Comments

hope-manifests-in-jesus-pj

 

Hope has felt rather elusive this week, as I’ve been battling several puzzling and frustrating technical issues which have succeeded (so far) in locking me out of my Words of Joy blog. Yes, really.. 😦

If anything, despair has been my constant, unwelcome companion over the last few days. Despite my best efforts to resolve the matter, it remains a mystery to me. It’s also been far easier to sink with discouragement, admit defeat, rather than see the positives.

Thankfully, sharing this burden with others and getting prayer support, as well as sitting quietly with Jesus, has helped tremendously to shift my perspective.

All the same, the poem below came out of a painful place where I am learning to fight back with joy, to rest in God’s provision (I still have this place to write in – hooray!) and calmly work toward a resolution.

With a fresh measure of hope, I offer these words to you, with the prayer that you will begin to rediscover hope for yourself if it’s been a bit absent recently…

Hope manifests

We carry the world’s echo within, its resonance

stretching hope thin. Life weighs heavy as stone

and we scratch like hungry hens seeking seeds,

paw at parched ground before us – come up empty

 

Lifting our eyes to a larger horizon, we sense

a gentle presence like soft fronds of a feather

tickling our souls. No harsh shouting here,

no risk of being swallowed whole, of disappearing

 

down a black hole of loneliness. Instead,

we see Light shining in crevices, lifting gloom

with glory markers. And as we turn again

to feel its refreshing rain, Hope manifests

 

as the eyes and arms of Jesus, bringing

joy and comfort to weary hearts – wrapping

snug like a warm duvet on a winter’s day

 

We nestle within the folds of hope, held

fast, secure at last, while chaos still

reigns, but calm is now restored within,

because we are resting our souls in Him

JoyLenton2016

I’m so thankful for these grace gifts:

  • God’s continual goodness and grace
  • hope in life’s dark places
  • supernatural calm displacing anxiety and stress
  • patient endurance to get through trials
  • kind friends, loving family, help at hand
  • prayer support just when I needed it
  • inspiration coming
  • words to write

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tunes without the words,

And never stops at all

~ Emily Dickinson

hope-manifests-poem-pj

Maintaining a higher perspective

/ Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

maintaining a higher perspective - PJ

 

When life’s demands send us to our knees, or lay us low with illness and fatigue, we receive all the help we need when we look beyond our current circumstances and look up to God.

In the realisation that we have no resources left we are thrown upon God’s mercy and grace, His unlimited strength, stable unchanging character and limitless love.

During the long summer days when I have been absent here, flat-out with fatigue and often too preoccupied to see more than is before me, I’ve found my greatest peace in knowing God has got me covered.

He has given me supernatural strength to care for my husband after his spinal surgery, and energy enough to take on some of the household tasks I usually need to leave in his capable hands.

Yes it’s been tough, really hard and challenging for this woman with M.E. I’ve ached to resume our  normal routine again, because my husband’s recovery has been slow and support from others naturally lessened as the weeks went by.

I couldn’t write or be present on social media like I used to. My life shifted into a new gear,  demanding all I could give and more besides.

But I always knew (and still do as things ease a little) God was with me, with both of us as we adapted to our challenging changing circumstances.

The cloud of God’s presence overshadows every moment, even as His radiance invites us to look for the glints of light peeking through our own clouds.

He sees all our days. They’re spread out before Him  – a tapestry of grace in all its messy, tangled, colourful glory.

He paints beauty within the commonplace and yearns for us to see and sense it, too, those gentle footprints of His presence.

Some days I’ve looked up and watched the glory in the heavens. I’ve also caught a glimpse of things closer to home.

I’ve deliberately been trying to listen to my life, taking photographs of the beauty surrounding me, seeing things from a fresh perspective.

The poem below reveals the advantage of having a lofty perch mentally, if not physically…

A lofty perch

a lofty perch - PJ

They hover on the brink

close to the edge where

talons meet tile.

Their plump grey plumage

mirroring cloud covering.

Eyes scan the horizon

for a soul mate

to share a lofty perch.

A close companion

become a pigeon pair.

And in the courtship dance

they bill and coo their way

upon life’s stage.

Entranced by heights

they stretch and fly

together now, soft dots

against bright curtain swag

of sun and sky

©JoyLenton2016

Friends, it’s  good to be back to writing and sharing here again. I’ve really missed you! Thank you for your patience. Hope you like the new look. The header image is from an arty-style photo of mine taken this summer – an experiment in expressing creativity differently.  What has God has been revealing to you this season? I’d love you to share in the comments below. 🙂

Because he does it all for love’s sake

/ Joy Lenton / 17 Comments

celebration in Thailand 4

Let me tell you about my man. He’s not one of life’s movers and shakers, a risk or glory taker. He’s more of a shake-and-move-slow and an all-for-love’s-saker.

A man who played competitive football with zest, zeal and energy into his 50s. Only pausing to be able to take better care of me.

He was athletically inclined, sporty and strong, lithe and nimble, able and capable of doing most things he turned his practical hands to.

And now he bends under the strain of life’s burdens, the repercussions of workplace bullying and having a severe mental health breakdown; made lower still with spinal problems and Parkinson’s disease.

He’s too sick to hold down a job, but he is (thankfully) more mobile and capable than I am of taking care of the household tasks.

A lot of things have stopped him in his tracks. Life’s trials have emptied him of his previous vigour and vitality. Yet he gives to me so freely and willingly.

Because his heart is full. Full of love and care and kindness and compassion. Full of faithfulness. My man is tender, loving and servant-hearted, exemplifying Jesus to me.

We struggle on together. And during this week when M.E has a greater international awareness than usual, I wanted to write in praise of him. Most M.E sufferers would find their lives far more challenging without assistance from their carers. And he is that for me, despite his own disabilities.

My man may not be publicly acclaimed. He isn’t one to seek the limelight. He may not be much in the eyes of society, but he means the world to me.

My love – this poem is for you, with deep gratitude for all you are and all you do each and every day…

All for love’s sake

love is - all for love's sake PJ poem pin

He climbs the hill that grows

ever steeper by the week

Breath escapes in gasps as he pauses

now, aware of curious glances

But conscious more of his own

growing astonishment; how did

he come to this? A man made

small, constrained in movement

that once felt fluid, as smooth

as water – rendered turgid

And still he presses on because

errands need to be run, and

his are the legs to reach their

destination with comparative ease

His wife relies on him in ways he

wishes didn’t exist; her life now

bound to the house with M.E

and his tied to love’s desires,

life’s great demands and needs

Devotion steels his spine again

He straightens an aching back

and faithfulness becomes

the rack on which he stretches out

Extending and spending himself

in numerous little ways

as one who willingly acts,

he shakes – though firm with resolve,

giving his all for love’s sake

©JoyLenton2016

awareness_ribbons for ME

An often overlooked aspect of raising awareness for M.E  and chronic illness is not only our need for extra help and support with life’s daily tasks, but  also publicly acknowledging the ones who actually and actively meet that need for us. Hopefully my words have helped you to see a slice of life from the carer’s side as well, although everyone’s circumstances will differ, of course.

International ME Awareness Day is on May 12th, 2016. The whole month is devoted to it too.

Thank you for reading, and for your patience with the paucity of posts of late. I may not have had much spare energy to write here as often as I used to, but you can find me spilling forth words at my main site – Words of Joy – instead. I’d love to see you there. 🙂 x

We come with a renewed view

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

a renewed view cross - PJ

It’s Holy Week and we come with a renewed view as we approach the calendrical remembrance of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Two thousand years of history as a body of believers marks us out in society as souls who have accepted salvation in Jesus and surrendered to God’s work in us.

We bear a banner of faith and hope to hurting souls, a breath of Holy Spirit air to those dying on the inside, a haven of peace and rest to the stressed and depressed as we share The Way to become eternally set free from the fear, sin and pain of our fallen humanity.

We are Christ followers, His grace revealers, Truth sharers and burden bearers as we carry the holy weight of the cross before a waiting world, and the sorrows etched within it to our loving Saviour.

We are also eager for them to see the other side of the cross and the new life ready to be birthed on the inside by believing in Him.

In the sharing of His Passion and suffering, we too walk the lonely road toward crucifixion, ours being a spiritual one – a daily dying to self and the resurrection powered, liberating living of a Spirit-led life.

We come with hearts heavy at the enormity of the task before our Lord, and with hearts made free by the very act of His willing surrender.

Each day we live with the potential of life transforming change wrought by the cross, and the glory of the empty tomb before us, but never more so than during a week of walking the path of remembrance with Jesus.

Our view is renewed in the remembrance, hearts are made warm with wonder and minds remain amazed by the selfless act of pure unmerited grace that has bought our freedom at such a great price.

A renewed view

We come with a renewed view

as we gain sight of the road

rising up to meet us,

the long one paved in agony

on which we have placed our feet,

soled in faithful pilgrimage.

Blood marks the path before us

as Via Dolorosa rises strong

to claim our heart’s affections

for what Christ wrought true

as He courageously fought

on a cross carved out of wood.

Staked out on this lonely hill

where His disciples gather still

JoyLenton2016

a renewed view poem pin PJ

Why brevity might be the way forward

/ Joy Lenton / 4 Comments

brevity - transparency PJ

Transparency has been my hallmark ever since I began shaping words to share publicly.

Whether it be prose or poetry, I tend toward a confessional, soul baring and sharing style of writing.

And that’s no bad thing when I aim to be as authentic as possible, even if it can lead to surprising things arising from the deep.

My pondering can take me places I never intended to go as I wait on God for inspiration and try to follow His leading.

And you know what? Transparency can make you feel paper-thin, vulnerable and fragile.

Sometimes a little light relief is called for – hence this brief poetic look at brevity and how it might be the way forward for a while.

Because my poetic hat is wearing itself ragged at the moment as I put the finishing touches to a debut poetry collection which I hope to self-publish fairly soon.

Could brevity be a way forward perhaps? It is said that less is more, after all.

Would you prefer a helping of haiku or some micro-poetry here instead of the usual fare?

Read and judge for yourself and let me know what you think…

Brevity

I must confess

that brevity

is not my forté

nor does it

come easily

to one as

verbose as me

Rather, I tend

(though I aim to say less)

toward long lament

Intense soliloquy

instead of

snappy eulogy

Perhaps I should refrain

from pouring out words

falling through my head

And aim to discipline,

confine, constrain myself

(in an Oriental way)

by trying to write

some haiku instead?

©JoyLenton2016

It’s not often that I write about the writing process itself as I am doing here, but sometimes the nuts and bolts of being a writer make it necessary to reflect on how to go about it.

You may also be interested in my latest Association of Christian Writers (ACW) group,  ‘More than Writers’ guest post on how free writing can help fire and inspire our creativity. It can be found here.

Dear reader, normal service will (hopefully) be resumed as soon as possible! Thank you for your grace. 🙂

brevity PJ pin