A message we all need to hear

Some of us can wait what feels like a lifetime to hear the words, "I love you" from a person's lips.

Maybe it's a parent whose validation and approval we've never had.

Or a sibling who failed to get over their early resentment of us.

Perhaps you long for these words from a loved one ~ friend, partner, husband, child.

Because who doesn't want to be and feel loved? It's hardwired into our system.

And God knows that. It's why He sent Jesus.

Such love. Such grace. 

This is love way beyond our imaginations ~ total, unconditional love from the One who knows all our faults, flaws and failings yet loves us just the same.

How do I know?

I've looked into the mirror of His word. Seen, read, accepted and believed its truth ~ albeit falteringly at times ~ and lived with its constant presence.

Witnessed it countless times in the countenance of my loved ones; the acts of love, grace and care lavished on this unworthy woman could only be God-inspired.

My heart has expanded to make room for it, and it keeps on growing because this is a love beyond measure that fills the universe itself ~ Uncontainable. Limitless. Eternally giving. 

I've experienced the fathomless forgiveness of it gratefully in my wayward heart. 

Human love is bound to disappoint us at times, wound up as it is in our woundedness. 

Sometimes it feels like sweet nothingness, all candy fluff with no lasting substance.

Deep down we long to know we really matter to someone, we are loved. Hear someone saying, "I love you".

And my friend, even if no-one has said those three magic words to you, God has and will continue to whisper them loud until you believe Him.

Because faith and trust open the door to His Presence.

He will not barge in.

He waits patiently ~ the most ardent Lover of our soul ~ to be given admittance.

The Hound of Heaven pursues us quietly and relentlessly through the years. We matter that much to Him.

God will never give up on you ~ even if everyone else has ~ you can trust Him and His faithfulness.

How does this eternal Love speak to us? In myriad ways. 

In every sight and sound in creation, in the very air we breathe, release and receive, in every beat of our hearts ~ we find solid ground in the things we believe from His word.

My friend, please hear and receive this truth today ~ you are loved far more than you will ever know.

You are precious to the One who engraves you on the palm of His hand, walks beside you every moment, longs to be in relationship with you.

Nothing can separate you from His everlasting love which covers you here into eternity.

He always answers hearts hungry for His Presence. 

Rest in the revelation that you are outrageously, radically loved by God Himself ~ it will literally change your life.

As you listen to the video below, let it's message hit home and impact your heart with His amazing love.

Joining here with Holley for #coffeeforyourheart and with Jennifer for #TellHisStory

You are warmly invited and encouraged to take part

Taking a leap of faith

Welcome. So pleased you have joined me.
Are you ready for a s-t-r-e-t-c-h? Go on, you know it will do you good. A physical stretch eases our limbs and a mental one fires up the brain.

After all, isn't life all about change and challenges? Or are they just for the brave - or foolhardy - few? It takes an element of faith to rise to a challenge and to see it through.

 We all exercise faith on a daily basis, to some degree or other, as we trust the world around us to operate as it should.

Chairs are meant to be sat in, right?

I am taking a leap of faith here in sharing my words ~ actually every time I press 'Publish' I require nerves of steel that someone will read, and hopefully enjoy, the message I am sharing.

One of the greatest challenges that faces us is also one of life's greatest pleasures: loving and being loved in return.

It opens us up to the possibility of heartache, despair, rejection and loss, as well as to a potential for joy and delight beyond measure.

Because loving and being loved is one of our primary reasons for existence. We were all created as unique individuals, crafted by God's loving hand, in order to know and be in relationship with Him. God is the Only Person Who loves us unconditionally and without measure.

As we draw near to the Christmas period we have great opportunity to reflect on just who Jesus is and why He came into the world.

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life" ~ John 3:16 The Message

Jesus said:"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love." ~John 15:9

Yet we can struggle to accept not only that we are loved, but that we might even be lovable to someone else. Perhaps our upbringing and family life failed to affirm that necessary message to us or being hurt by other people may have made a serious dent in our ability to believe it. 

Once our hearts have been crushed or broken they may feel beyond repair. How do we learn to love again when we feel unlovable? 

Our poor self-image and imperfections can lead us to feel unworthy of receiving love or even incapable of giving it away freely to others.

What we are lacking ourselves (or feel as if we do) can become a stumbling-block in reaching out that may even be hidden from us until it really matters. Then we wonder what is stopping us from giving and receiving equally. Most of us long for an experience such as this:

"Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts, nor measure words, but to pour them all out just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away" ~ George Eliot

My relationship with God is a safe harbour like this, as He takes the worst of what I am, deals with the bad and does everything to promote and encourage the good. There is such comfort and freedom in being able to pour out all that I am and all I am going through and know He cares, understands and has every ability to bring about the necessary changes.

 His word also tells us -

"The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" ~ Psalm 34:18

God meets with us right where we are. We don't have to clean up our act before coming to Him. He longs to do the same for all of us  -  if we would only allow Him access.

Sometimes He has to do a healing work in us before we can believe we are lovable. Past emotional conflict and pain can stand in the way.

Are we ready to exercise our faith in The Only Person Who will always love and be there for us ?

Are we ready to take that leap?

A Prayer
Dear Father,
How our hearts weigh heavy at times as we long to be able to be loved and to give love to others. Yet so many things can get in the way. We may not feel worthy or capable. We may lack the resources emotionally to be open and trusting. 

It can feel scary to let another person see the 'Real Me' behind the masks we wear to try to fit in and seem like everyone else, even though we may feel isolated, lost and alone in our differences.

Yet, You made each one of us unique and special. We have gifts and abilities to share.There are no Outsiders in your kingdom of grace. Help us to see ourselves as we are In Christ and as You see us - Accepted, Beloved, Chosen.

Then do the necessary work within our hearts to enable us to be healed, at peace with You, with ourselves and with one another, set free to love and be loved as you planned for us to be.
Thank you.
Amen.

Can you hear me?

Hi,
Welcome. It's good to meet with you here. After all, getting connected is what it's all about, right? Never before have we had such a varied frenzy of social networks to have our voices heard on. It used to be said that everyone could be famous for 15 minutes. Perhaps that should be 15 seconds these days as the demand to be heard increases while the attention span wanes in the midst of so many conflicting messages.

Sometimes it can feel like SHOUTING (sorry - very rude of me) is the only way to claim attention ~ to make us stand out from the crowd. But does it really help us to 'get heard'? It can be hard to be our true, authentic selves when we can so easily be different things to different people as the mood/social network takes us. After all, who can tell who we really are? An element of trust is involved.

We all have an intrinsic need to feel safe, loved and accepted. It is hard-wired into us from infancy and helps us to fulfil our potential when we have affirmation and positive regard from others and an equally balanced regard for ourselves. 

How we go about meeting our desires to be heard in adult life can vary according to what extent those basic, fundamental needs were met and satisfied (or not) during our early years when the foundations of loving and being loved were laid.

When we want to connect with those we love then things are usually quite different. We have several choices before us, but nothing beats 'face- to- face' contact. Focusing and giving undivided attention may feel alien in our distracting and distracted lifestyles but it's the very life-breath of close relationships. 

Within the context of a supportive, loving relationship we can hopefully be real, let down our guards and be open and honest ~ warts and all ~ knowing that we are loved for who we are rather than for what we say or do. Rather than needing to shout to be heard, we often don't need to say anything at all. And that's so refreshingly restful!

The poem below speaks of communicating with the one you love. It can also be interpreted in the light of hearing God's voice of love speaking through creation, where His name and fame are broadcast loud and clear. Yet He also speaks with a 'still, small voice' to our hearts ~ if we desire to hear from and be in relationship with Him. 

As the Bible says: 'Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear' - Isaiah 65:24. 

So even if you may feel nobody else hears you, cares what you are going through or can understand you, please remember that God hears the unspoken cries of your heart. He made you, understands you better than any other person can and will fully meet your need for love and acceptance.

'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

Taking the first step

Hi,
Welcome. Thanks for dropping by. Grab a coffee, pull up a chair and get comfortable. We're about to take the first step into uncharted territory  - for me. From being a complete social-media novice a few months ago, when I tumbled tentatively into Twitter, I have survived and thrived enough to bashfully broach the borders of blogging too - gulp! Once that mission is accomplished, there remains the final frontier of 'Facebook phobia' to overcome one day perhaps? Wait and see.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The question is:'Why here and why now?' I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. It's partly due to a creative awakening after years of little or no output. Possibly witnessing my two adult sons branching out successfully as bloggers, writers and authors in recent years has encouraged me to fulfil that urge too. I've always 'scribbled' things throughout my life in the form of stories, poetry and journalling. But it's never been in any public (although some poetry has been published) or especially purposeful way before. At this stage in my life, after living with ME and other chronic health problems for 20 years, an awful lot of reflecting has gone on. Whilst my 'outer life' has increasingly diminished in the ability to do things and participate actively, it appears that my 'inner life' has developed and grown stronger and richer by comparison. At least I hope so.

I tend to feel and think deeply and to both speak and write from the heart. So, what you see and read may not be perfectly polished, but it will be authentic and real. It will also be greatly influenced and informed by my Christian faith, which has been the most significant, life-changing event of my adult life. Any flaws and mistakes here are mine. Any plaudits and praise are due to God, who has made it possible by His strengthening power (during a wonderful remission in my symptoms) for this to exist at all.

Grateful thanks are also due to my very supportive family, friends and Twitter followers for encouraging me with this enterprise. So, let's get started...

We begin this blog with a 'first step' that we are all familiar with on life's journey. The great theme of love and relationships is expressed in this brief first poem from the archives - written in those heady days of youth and first love. Aah.. I remember it well! Enjoy it as a small taster for things to come.

Our love

Plucked from the air

like the swelling ripeness of

new fruit,

Born on a breeze

And captured

As a breath;

A tender touch

Within a sigh - 

Friendship's depth

And sorrow's death.

©JoyLenton2012