Today's prompt is:'Belong'
START...
Where I belong
Childhood didn't fit
with illegitimate
writ large across my life
until they did the decent thing
and became husband and wife
Mind and body abused,
unwanted, neglected and
used, so I escaped
into words
wrote out my heart
longing to belong
Somewhere
as friends proved fickle
to this extrovert-shy
child heart looking
to be a part
one of the crowd
not stand-out alone
when face and form didn't fit
selection for a sporting team
and being accepted
remained a distant dream
I gave all I had
yet secret things
remained locked up
with feeling sad
and bad in my own
and others' eyes
no athletic glory
nor academic prize
and yet I yearned
to be accepted
just as I am
Then a Voice
whispered close
drew me in
with cords of love
compassion
and forgiveness
for my sin
full acceptance
and understanding
of everything
my life of pain
and mess
Now unfurling
as plant to sun
with tendrils of trust
leaning close
to Father's heart
the One True Place
where I belong
in His embrace
lifted and held
each day by
fresh outpourings
of love and grace
with fears
of being an outsider
no longer holding sway
©JoyLenton2013
STOP.
Linking here with Lisa-Jo Baker for Five Minute Friday. You are very welcome to join in.
To stay in touch with my posts, poetic and otherwise, you can subscribe by e-mail, join with Google Friend Connect or like my Facebook page.
Just beautiful, Joy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. So pleased you liked it. God specialises in bringing forth beauty from the ashes of our lives.
DeleteThis made me teary at the beginning and then by the end I was smiling because it is such a joy to have a loving heavenly Father who accepts us - we have the sweet blessing of belonging to Him :) Thank you for writing this. Have a beautiful weekend!
ReplyDeleteHugs to you!
An emotion stirrer for me too as I read it through later! Having "a loving heavenly Father who accepts us" is a blessing indeed. I never cease to be awed and amazed by His grace. Thank you for this lovely comment, Stephanie. May your weekend be full of His goodness.
DeleteSo touching.... Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLaura Hedgecock
http://www.TreasureChestofMemories.com
http://www.twitter.com/LauraLHedgecock
Thank you for stopping by to encourage me, Laura. Bless you!
DeleteLovely - I like the image of a plant unfurling its tendrils.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, Fiona. I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by and leave a sweet comment.
DeleteThis is captivating. Thank you it really spoke to me Joy. I am amazed you could write that well in 5 minutes! Excellent!
ReplyDeleteLynn
Thanks, Lynn. Strangely, I find that poetry pours forth more naturally than prose when time pressured! This topic must still be very close to the surface in my consciousness and easily lends itself to speed writing. But I may possibly have overstepped the clock a little this time in my eagerness to express how I was feeling.
DeleteYou have a beautiful way with words, Joy!
ReplyDeleteFenny @ Hotchpotch
Hi Fenny. Thank you very much for your kindness. I am so pleased it appealed to you and grateful to have met you through FMF. Blessings :)
Deletereally lovely.
ReplyDeleteDenise, you are such an encourager to all FMF participants! Thank you for stopping by to comment here. I really appreciate it.
DeleteDear Joy
ReplyDeleteI hear your heart, dear friend! We were created to belong to Jesus and when we do, nothing life throws at us can rob us ever again of that love, joy and sweet acceptance.
Blessings XX
Mia
Yes, I do tend to wear my heart on my sleeve! I love your words here. Such a lovely, insightful comment. Thank you, Mia, for your discernment and for sharing your thoughts. Blessings xx
DeleteWonderful poem my poetic sister :). I related to the never being picked for the team thing. I was usually the girl picked last or second to last for teams in gym class. So not athletic and I would have tried to get out of most of gym if I could have haha. Oh well..we shine in other areas and that is what makes us us. It's a wonderful place to be in when the fears of being an outsider are not at the forefront. Cheers to that! Sending hugs your way.
ReplyDeleteActually, gym was the only place I felt relatively comfortable sports-wise as the Hypermobility Syndrome I suffer from proved to be an advantage in moving freely and being supple! You are so right to say that "we shine in other areas and that is what makes us us". Reaching that conclusion, and fully believing in our own unique God-given abilities, is a place of confident trust and acceptance of how He made us. Thank you, Rebekah, for blessing me with your lovely comment. Hugs and prayers to you too.
DeleteReally lovely ... this has inspired me to take the step to publish my one and only poem I've ever written. "The night He came .." Thank you and bless you Joy
ReplyDeleteYes, do! I'm so pleased to have inspired you, Day. Creative expression is a vital thing. Once you review it you may even feel like writing more poetry. I hope so. Thank you for stopping by to express your appreciation and encourage me. Bless you.
DeleteIts an amazing experience to find we are totally accepted in to the arms of a loving Heavenly Father. Finally we can let go of all our past hurts and fears and be healed by his love. What a glorious day that is I can still recall the moment I too realized that this very same love is real and its mine. I am safe now in the arms of my Heavenly Father.
ReplyDeleteYes, precious memories of that day refresh our faith and warm our hearts toward the Lord. And we learn how to finally "let go of our past hurts and fears and be healed by his love". So true. Thanks very much for stopping by to share your thoughts, Maxine. I really appreciate it.
DeleteThe gift of redemption out of the disappointments in life... Only the loving hand of our Father can spin that miracle. Awesome words. A life pointing to the heart of our Father. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteYou sum this up so well, Floyd. It is definitely "the gift of redemption out of the disappointments in life" and "only the loving hand of our Father can spin that miracle". Amen!
DeleteI love it that you're so Raw and Real Joy...thanks for sharing. God's love is so amazing and so big...awesome!
ReplyDeleteRaw and real...yes, that about sums up how I tend to write! Thanks, Lorna. I really appreciate you encouraging me to stay open and authentic as I share the painful episodes of my life and the grace-filled blessings of our awesome God in the overcming of them.
Delete