poetry

Autumnal days

/ Joy Lenton / 9 Comments

There is a special beauty in autumnal days.

I love to watch as leaves give out a dying blaze before they crisp and curl then fall away.

And this week I have a wonderfully familiar yet completely different outlook.

My son’s garden and surroundings speak soft of summer’s ending, autumn’s kaleidoscope colours signalling the approach of colder days.

So as I’ve window-watched and pondered, taken images and enjoyed the views, it seemed good to share them with you too.

Because there is a bevy of beauty in the everyday as God pours out His glory and grace.

‘Autumnal days’

autumnal rain and trees

Autumnal days have a sacred blaze

They glow with mystery and a hint of history

Glistening raindrops gather soft light

as they turn liquid gold and rusty bright

crack where light gets in

Landscape misted by a foggy haze

in deepening darker rain-soaked days

No matter how dim and dull it may seem

there’s always a crack where the light gets in

garden squirrel file image PJ

And familiar green can become a scene

where a squirrel hides himself in plain sight

before he scampers clean away

having made his mark on the day

©JoyLenton2014

This poem shaped itself as I looked at the images I had taken this week. It is part of my aim to see beauty in the everyday and God’s grace in the commonplace during my  #31days of #writingbraveandfree here and at Words of Joy. 

Posts have of necessity been rather sporadic due to many health challenges and the extra fatigue from making a journey, but I hope you will enjoy what I’ve managed to write so far. 🙂

Seeing beauty in the everyday

/ Joy Lenton / 3 Comments

countryside flowers ~ file image WoJ

Sometimes we don’t have to travel far at all to see the wonder of the world.

It’s right here, on our doorstep.

Well within our vision.

There is beauty in the everyday.

Cause to celebrate the commonplace.

Eyes enhanced by grace see more than meets the eye.

Blessings abounding for the discerning.

We learn to marry the marvellous with the mundane.

I have had my eyes opened to enchantment.

My soul woken to the wonder woven through each day.

Being housebound means that each opportunity and ability to leave the confines of four walls is reason to rejoice.

Yes, even in a hospital waiting room, a trip to the doctor or the dentist! Surprising encounters can lift our days if we look for them.

I record #beautyintheeveryday on my Instagram feed as memory markers for darker, gloomier days.

All around we are offered opportunities to see life and to see it whole, to witness the outpouring of God’s goodness, glory and grace.

A short journey gives me a chance to see abundance of new life as sap rises in Spring, sultry, hazy, lazy days of Summer unfold, Autumn reveals her golden-clothed splendour, and Winter creeps its silvery, icy fingers on the land.

The poem below is celebrating my brief trips out in recent months, with a wistful looking forward to future ones.

‘Sightseeing’

countryside view

I didn’t travel far

beyond my front door

Just sitting in the car

delighting in the things I saw

Landscapes, clouds and sky

spoke out God’s beauty

to me as I watched

and sighed. And trees

bloomed fresh and green

then shed their coat of leaves

in russet-gold of varied hues

midst fluffy-white and cobalt-blue

I didn’t get to see

or smell the salt-tanged air

of sea, or watch as

waves rose and fell

upon the sand

Though my heart desires

to see the coast

and ponder on eternity

as life swells forth

in ebbs and tides

amongst the surf

unto infinity

©JoyLenton2014

coast ~ PJ file pin image

While we are waiting

/ Joy Lenton / 5 Comments

savour the moment waiting post file image PJ

Life offers us scope to savour the moment. Pauses abound with potential and promise, breathing places where we can exhale the cares of the day.

There are those who deliberately seek sacred spaces and long for snatched time to enjoy them.

Though in a continually busy 24/7 society where instant gratification reigns, and express delivery is the order of the day, we find ourselves easily upset at any delays to our schedules.

Waiting for anything or anyone can feel like a monumental waste of time.

Our fingers tap impatiently when the PC/mobile/tablet etc fail to perform as they should.

Deep sighs accompany delays of every kind. We want to access this and we want it NOW.

Isn’t the latest technology meant to shorten the time we spend doing things? It only seems to further our impatience when it fails to work aright.

But what if we tried to view things differently? Could we find ways to enjoy and appreciate the stop-gaps in our lives?

I was inspired to write the poem below during a recent stint in a hospital waiting-room.

Rather than keep my eyes glued to a screen I prefer to ponder all I am seeing. It has the added benefit of reducing anxiety.

People-watching is a great interest of mine and I indulged discretely, not in a nosy sense but simply because people are fascinating.

We all share a common humanity and many common experiences, even if our reactions to them may differ greatly.

If we allow our souls to quieten we can see and hear far more than usual in the secular and sacred realms.

This is the result of a few minutes watching while I waited…

‘Waiting’

They stride

bold, with daunting efficiency

heels clip-clopping hard

down corridors long

hiding their frail humanity

beneath a veneer of

swift strong competency

While we

hold ourselves submissive

Seek to hide

our strain and stress, pain,

weakness and duress behind

a meek subordination

to their authority

But inside

we quake and tremble

pretending to be

patient patients

while in the thrall

of medical disinterest

or rapt attention

We abide

in whispering gloom

furtive glances

checking of watches

time slowed to a crawl

anxious for the call

in this waiting-room

©JoyLenton2014

hospital waiting room PJ poem file pin image

I have written more about the challenge of seeking the sacred in the in-between seconds of life in ‘Minding the gap’ over at ‘Words of Joy’. It was inspired by reading Jeff Goins’ book, ‘The In-between:Embracing the Tension Between Now and The Next Big Thing’.  I can highly recommend it as a great  source of insightful thoughts on this topic. 

More than meets the eye

/ Joy Lenton / 2 Comments

blue skies PJ file image

I had an outing today as I accompanied my husband to a hospital appointment.

There is always a silver lining to such excursions, fraught as they are with anxiety and stress (him), weakness and pain (me).

We didn’t have far to travel but it was enough to alter my perspective.

Four wall living can become my default mode once Winter sets in.

I aim to get out and about as much as I can manage in the warmer weather, despite protesting limbs and weariness setting in so quickly.

And I was glad of the opportunity to see a change of scenery.

So I took a few photos to file away as memory markers on gloomier days.

Saw an electricity pylon stretching metal arms to a cobalt sky like a praise song.

Watched the interplay of light falling as beams across the clouds, with hints of glory sneaking through.

Marvelled anew at the beautiful, creative display God puts on day after day.

Engaged in a spot of people-watching safe in the confines of the car and shared furtive glances of a waiting room.

The poem below was a result of a few seconds’ glimpse where my imagination pierced through to a woman’s soul.

For there is always more than meets the eye with everything and everyone we encounter.

‘Hidden core’

A pale blue sun-hat

sat deep upon her head

as she marched forward

with fast, determined tread

At odds with the autumnal

coat she loosely wore

reminiscent of tides,

ice-cream, sand and distant shores

Her eyes turned downward

as she pounded city streets

No betrayal of emotion

in her persistent, plodding feet

Yet in the corners

of her heart there washed

a sea of thoughts and words

inexplicable, unseen,

unvoiced and unheard

Just like each one of us

she had a hidden core

where pain and sorrow mingled

and joy sat at the door

A place of whispers, shouts,

an appalling weight of tears

A place of silence, doubts,

where she carried secret fears

©JoyLenton2014

hidden core PJ file pin image

Longing to move

/ Joy Lenton / 2 Comments

dancing queen PJ file image

‘Final fling’

‘Dancing Queen’ did it for me

My final fling before

becoming so ill with M.E

I haven’t danced since

at a wedding, or some other place

If I did I’d probably fall

completely flat on my face

But I long to move

with style, rhythm,

ease and grace

For these limbs to

writhe smooth, and free from

stiffness, pain, infirmity

No fatigue would

slow me down

I’d be able to

walk all over town

to stride out with

confidence and strength

instead of limping along

in a weakened state

Maybe one day…

I will move with new style,

with energy and pace

For now… I rest, watch others,

wait here patient a while

sit still, with happy-tappy feet

and a wistful smile on my face

©JoyLenton2014

Now, I dance on the inside as my soul rejoices to know God’s goodness and grace. There is no confinement or constraint to inner vibrancy and joy.

“You have turned my sorrow into joyful dancing. No longer am I sad and wearing sackcloth. I thank you from my heart, and I will never stop singing your praises, my Lord and my God” ~ Psalm 30:11 – 12 (CEV)

girl dancing PJ file pin image

balloon 31 days blog file image 2014

This post is  the first of my #31days of writing brave and free.

Today I am inspired by the word ‘Move’ from Kate Motaung’s list of daily writing prompts that you can find here.

I will be joining in on an ad hoc, informal basis as energy and strength allow me too.

For more details please read this post over at ‘Word of Joy’. I hope you will be inspired to join in too! 

Because of Him

/ Joy Lenton / 13 Comments

child writing file image PJ because of him post

Writing is a strange occupation. Not one for the faint-hearted.

There are days where words flow freely and we write out our hearts.

On others, it feels like the tap has run dry and ceased its outpouring.

We squeeze and coax them to appear like getting blood out of a stone.

Some days they demand a great deal of energy to pin down on the page.

I’ve been trying to save energy because it will only stretch so far when you have M.E, and  life has recently become much busier for me in many ways.

If I extend myself too much it leads to a ‘crash and burn’ reaction which can cause further relapse in symptoms.

So I took a mini social media and blogging break to recoup some strength.

Pain has been pervasive and leached more life out of this weary frame. And sleep/rest/pacing have become the order of the day.

But I felt a creative itch and urge simmering beneath the surface. It’s never far away though it hibernates sometimes.

Little snatches of verse have been born (and some made public) as I joined in with poetic prompts on Twitter both prior to and since ending my needful break.

Listening and leaning are the new watchwords of my life this year and they are bearing fruit as I abide closer to God.

There is far less urgent clamour about my writing and a lot more trust that words will appear when they should.

I’m discovering it’s a restful place to be in as I surrender the whole process to God. He gives me all the inspiration and words I need.

I long to break free from rigid conformity, from formality, from ought and should, from comparison and feeling ‘less than’.

Joining in with Five Minute Friday has given me permission to ditch perfectionism and embrace the gift of the inspired moment as I offer my words to public scrutiny.

Here I am again, with renewed gratitude that stems from seeing how God uses weak, weary and wounded ones like you and me to speak out for Him.

I can write again. Words have come when I least expected them to….because of Him.

START…

‘Because’

Lord,

I don’t want to write

just because

it is what

I usually do

or because

I want to have a say

These words should come

because You

have thoughts You desire

me to convey

And You know just who

needs to be

encouraged by You

in prayerful offering

which becomes

sacrificial giving

surrendered in this way

So I come willingly

because that’s

how things ought to be

and happen naturally

Here is my pen, my mind,

my heart, my soul

Please take and use them

to bless, heal and help

make others whole

Write Your Word

upon my heart

Inscribe Your ideas

as I start

to write, and allow

them all to flow

because I

have surrendered them

into Your hands

and for Your plans

©JoyLenton2014

STOP.

pen and journal file pin image PJ

Joining here with Kate and fellow #FMF writers as we write bold and brave today. You are very welcome and warmly invited to join in and to discover how you can write this way every day for a whole month if you want to.

Hearts on pilgrimage

/ Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

hearts on pilgrimage file image

Reaching significant life markers can feel like a line being drawn in the sand.

Behind it may lie years of fruitful abundance, times of activity and usefulness.

In front is an unknown, untried, untested future ~ trusted to a known God.

My line in the sand came in my 30’s when I was working as a nurse.

I was struck down, laid low with M.E, and other chronic illness followed hot on its heels.

Time shuddered to a halt. A life divided into ‘now’ and ‘then’. I soon forgot what it felt like to feel well. 

God used the time to good effect. As I began to mourn the loss of health and career, He made me lie down by His still waters to examine my soul.

Provided good Christian counselling to encourage me to unearth my painful past and bring me into a place of greater release and freedom.

After nearly 10 years of weekly counselling sessions, I was finally emotionally healed from most of the events that had shaped me as a growing child/adult and poisoned my mind and heart.

Though some lingering after-effects continue to impact my life.

They too require the Healer’s ongoing tender touch.

Now, I remain a sojourner. A heart still set on pilgrimage.

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage” ~ Psalm 84:5

My soul is still seeking safety, sanctuary and strength on a daily basis as it leans heavy on the Lord.

For we never stay the same, even if our circumstances do.

We are all growing, evolving, maturing and learning day by day.

And God never stops teaching us about Himself:the wonders of His love, the marvel of His grace, the sweetness of His Presence.

I may have just passed another milestone on the way to heaven, but I will never get beyond my desperate need of God.

We are built to yearn for Him, to desire to know Him, to set our hearts on following after His will and ways.

Because that’s the only certainty we have in this uncertain world ~ our God is totally loving, totally trustworthy and totally faithful to His children.

God’s best won’t necessarily look good to us while we are experiencing it, and often not until we understand what He is doing and allowing, but it will heal and deliver us in His own perfect timing and way.

‘On pilgrimage’

Marching on is the nature of souls

in search of becoming healed and whole

Our pilgrimage can span many long years

as we learn to walk bold and conquer fears

Stumbling through valleys deep with sand

we reach out for God’s proffered hand

When weak, worn out and weary we fall

we’re lifted up by the One who sees all

Blinded by tears we lose our way

God ensures we don’t go astray

Discouragement comes and hearts can fail

until we remember the Blood and nails

Our Saviour Lord trod this earthly soil

experienced its pain, suffering and toil

And when we follow hard after Him

He grants us strength when life looks grim

©JoyLenton2014

on pilgrimage poem pin file image PJ

Linking here with Beth,  Holley, and other like-minded friends as we seek to encourage one another in our walk of life and faith

Time to be ready

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

autumnal trees

A new season starts and we wonder if we are ready for all it may entail.

The wind of change blows strong and all that we knew before is carried on its current into the Past.

Like the ever-changing seasons of life,  we too have seasons of the soul.

Maybe you’re in a preparation period, time to till the ground, turn over the soil and ensure it is in a receptive state to welcome and receive.

Maybe you’re readying yourself to sow some faith seeds in anticipation of a harvest to come.

Or could this be the period when God’s promises to you will finally be fulfilled?

Sometimes it feels like we spend forever in a waiting season, getting colder, battening down the hatches and hibernating.

We need reminders that there are cycles of change, life will bloom again and hopes will be met.

Aslan is stirring and Spring is coming to a land long-starved of joy and light.

Faith and hope will be brought to life again, and all that we have hung onto which doesn’t fit who we are in Christ will die a slow death as we co-operate and co-labour with God in the process.

I’m in a new season in many senses of the word and these things hang heavy in my soul.

And as I’ve thought and prayed I sensed God asking us, His church, the Bride of Christ, to make herself ready for His return.

To keep the flame alive, hold on to the hope that is in us.  He is at the door of our hearts.

We are the Light-bearers and Good News sharers to a dark and needy world.

We are the ones who live ever-hopeful of seeing the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

We are destined to be united in heart, mind and purpose  (in all the things that truly matter) as His children and His body on the earth.

Are we ready, friends?

‘Be ready’

Try to remain steady

as I’m making you ready

Preparation is a key part

of a transformed mind, life and heart

My best work cannot be rushed

and your soul must be hushed

to be receptive to My voice

Listen, sow,then you’ll rejoice

All of your life is open, laid bare

I see those things you willingly share

and others you try to hide away

will be brought forth in the light of day

No stone will be left unturned

in a heart that has yearned

to be touched and healed by Me

that longs above all to fly free

Before I can give you wings to fly

you may have unreleased tears to cry

as I seek to uncover and unearth

all that’s tethering you to earth

My will is for you to rise and shine

to reveal grace, to be wholly Mine

Come, My child, take My hand

This is time to be ready, here I stand

©JoyLenton2014

Linking my poem here with  Kate and other bold and brave writers  for #FMF as we go with the flow on the topic of ‘Ready’.

Also  joining with Jennifer as we #tellhisstory , with Mel for #essentialfridays and  with fellow writer friends, grace dwellers and sisters in Christ as we seek to live for Him and make Him known.

Ibis in Flight

A soft whisper

/ Joy Lenton / 14 Comments

A soft whisper file image PJ

Summer segues soft into Autumn and I sense a shift-change.

A call to quiet and calm. A whispered invitation of grace. A space to receive.

Making room for mercy moments in the mundane and eternal encounters in the everyday.

Words rise and fall in my head but fail to find their way onto the page.

My writing voice is stilled, though it clamours for release.

My mind feels overly busy with thoughts running around like headless chickens.

My body aches for rest, bed, soothing sleep, healing and restoration.

God wants me to be in tune with This season ~ a time to listen rather than speak, a time to refrain in order to gain the better part.

A heart receptive to His voice and a spirit that says Yes. A voice that whispers gentle and soft rather than shouting its presence.

All of which means that the things I long to share have been put on hold.. for now.

I am needing to focus more on the important than the urgent and make way for God’s ways most of all.

Yet He has encouraged me to send this poem forth because its message is timeless.

I wrote it in the flush of youthful love many moons ago, and published it two years ago on ‘Words of Joy’  in the context of a post about being seen, heard and loved.

I wrote the poem to my future husband, and as I read it again it speaks to me anew of our  heavenly Bridegroom calling for His Bride.

Maybe it also describes an intrinsic, eternal yearning inside us to be close, to feel cherished and loved, or maybe a way of seeing God in all of His creation?

However you take it, I pray God will use it to speak to you in the way you need to receive it.

‘Whisper your name’

Whisper your name in the

cold cubes of ice that

melt with heat’s breath

Whisper your name in the

wild, swirling tussle of

leaves on the ground

Whisper your name in the

snow that is black

with your words

Whisper your name in the

warm, woody ashes of

Winter that’s gone

Whisper your name in

Spring flowers that

nod out your greeting

Whisper your name in

the heavy haze of Summer sun

and Autumn sunsets

Whisper your name,

my love

and I’ll…..

whisper MINE

©JoyLenton2012

Praying for space for a sister to be slow, room for a recycled poem, and grace to come late to the party as I link here with Beth and friends for #threewordwednesday and with Kate for #FMF where this week’s  prompt is ‘Whisper’

**If you’d like to read more about words God has specifically whispered to my heart this year, then please feel free to check out the ‘Prayer Whispers’ category here**

A soft whisper file pin image PJ

Reaching out in faith

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

reaching out FMF PJ file image

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

reaching out FMF poem pin file image

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.