When you're in transition

My life is in transition. I'm at an in-between phase and stage.

Walls are crumbling, rocked by Holy Spirit winds and fanned by the flame of God's word.

I can no longer cling to familiar. All feels uncertain.

Days of being locked up in a tight cocoon are ending.

Release is coming.

Something new is being birthed.

And any birth is painful.

New life stretches us.

We know not what waits on the other side of the labour we are in. Fear seizes our throats and paralyses our steps.

Those dry, arid places are being flooded by a water of grace. A healing river to wash clean, revive and restore.

Yet we cling to what we know, stubborn as stains have clung to our souls and soaked into the fabric of our very being. They feel part of who we are.

But God says, "Come. Trust Me. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland" ~ Isaiah 43:19

As we cease our protests and resist pulling away, it soon becomes clear that co-operation is called for.

This new thing won't birth itself. The old skin won't shed without our pushing against it. And we can't float free as butterfly when our soul weighs heavy.

Such is the position I am in and it's taking so much energy from me. I am at the point of processing the changes taking place.

I'm still wary, still worn out from my struggles, still not through the other side or quite ready to share what is happening. I hope to be able to do so soon as God leads me.

For a new birth is also great cause for rejoicing and transition is a temporary stage of it.

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Emotional pains, wrangling and change have provoked greater physical weakness in me too as the M.E symptoms flare strong under stress.

I didn't feel like I had a clear thought in my head this morning as most of it was spent in bed. Then God gifted me with these unpolished, imperfect words in a poem, asking that I share the present pain in order to eventually share the strength and momentum gained in time to come.

It's written in support of all M.E sufferers who may be in a dry and difficult place right now. 

We have great hope of seeing change as we live the in-between life of sickness and pain with promise of healing to come.

A life obscured

I have a mind made foggy by M.E; mists swirl and cloud around my brain

parting briefly to reveal a glimpse of someone switched on, with-it and urbane.

Some days the clouds hang heavy, low, suffocating clarity of thought and meaning.

Other days they shift and a dazzling rainbow of ideas, expression and creativity break free.

When thoughts are obscured by an M.E fog it's like wading through treacle in my head

sinking deep in mud and treacherous bog as I strive to retrieve words sitting stiff as lead.

Wanting so much to be clear in my mind yet dredging hard in sludge for a hidden pearl

of wisdom, or words of any kind floating in the ether, out of reach in the swirl.

It's clutching at straws, grabbing at air, fatigue sitting dense, heavy and still

so body and mind can't get anywhere despite an extreme effort of will.

Held fast by exhaustion profound it affects every cell, every thought, every limb,

heightening sensitivity to light and sound as muscles ache deep and mind swims.

Eyes blur and ache with effort to read all out of focus, concentration shot

on a go-slow, nothing done at speed, body feverish blowing cold then hot.

A desperate need for rest and peace with communication shut down

requiring silence, dark and ease to avoid total burnout or meltdown.

Struggling through this latest trial with symptoms strong, intrusive,

knowing it could be a while when real improvement seems elusive.

Trusting in God's grace to sustain and see me through

resting in His loving embrace, peace and hope in His word coming true.

©JoyLenton2103

"We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly as he knows us" ~ 1 Corinthians 13:12

Yes, it is Friday and I normally participate in Five Minute Friday. But my brain wasn't up to the challenge today. God had other ideas for me.

Hopefully, normal service will be resumed soon!

Meanwhile, please feel free to share how God may be working in you, emotionally, spiritually or physically. Let's try to support and encourage one another in the challenges we are facing.

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