Moving on

Dear Friends,

As we slip from this Christmas season and approach a new year ahead, I want to pause a while and reflect on what those changes may involve. A new year gives us all a golden opportunity to turn over a new leaf, to seek to change and live in a better way than we did before. Let's begin with taking a look at the first stage in the process - moving on from the old - before we are ready to embrace the new.

Moving On

Vestiges linger on in our senses:

A prickle of pine,

sparkling lights ablaze,

glowing candles warming

hearts and hearths.

Mince pies, movies and mischief afoot.

Family noise: tears, shouts, cries for attention,

laughter and temper erupting -

competing with the buzz of TV 

and diverse gadgetry.

Gratitude remains:

Care folded up in a card,

Loving embraces,

Presents mingling with Presence,

Gifts glorified by Grace.

A savour and flavour of life, love and laughter

brought to an end by jangling of nerves,

kerrching of shop tills ringing

instead of choirs singing.

Caught up in consumerism

Wearied by work's

daily grind resuming. 

The lure of the High Street is calling.

Sales scrambling becomes the new pursuit,

leaving us stuffed to the gills

with more Stuff to house

No room at the inn

for it -  or for Him.

Let's get away from the mayhem.

New Year beckons.

New reasons to celebrate.

New horizons to explore.
New habits.
New ways.

New you?

Time for a make-over?

Time to change our ways?

Perhaps God is speaking to you through these words:

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 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 43:18 - 19

The verses above speak of God making a way where there seems to be no way. He is the One who states:

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" ~ Revelation 22:13

Nothing is impossible for Him. Nothing in our lives is a surprise to Him. God sees the beginning and the end.

 Nostalgia, memory, and fear of change can hold us back from moving on. In learning to trust God's ways we will eventually come to have peace and feel able to make the necessary changes to become a new, improved version of ourselves.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Moving on requires us to let go - of old behavioural and thought patterns, of those things God may be asking us to relinquish (good as they are in themselves) because He has so much more planned for us than we can begin to imagine. Once His anointing is gone from an area of service then it is no longer fruitful or beneficial to us or to others if we persist in clinging on to it.

Jesus came to set us free from old ways of thinking and doing. He saves us from costly mistakes that will harm us, He saves us from following wrong paths, 

He saves us from being lost in our bad habits and ways of reacting. He saves us from living selfishly.

"If our greatest need had been information,

God would have sent us an educator.

If  our greatest need had been technology,

God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money,

God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure,

God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness,

So God sent us a Savior."

~ Roy Lessin from 'Meet Me in the Meadow' devotional

Now that The Saviour is here, we can turn to Him, seek His forgiveness, learn to gradually let go of the things He points out are wrong for us, move further into understanding His ways and live to please Him above ourselves.

"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved" ~ Ephesians 2:4 -5 

Pause to ponder:

As you approach this new year,what might it look like if God is included in your thinking and planning?

Could God be asking you to 'let go' of something in order to fully 'move on' with your life?

In this post I am linking with Missional Women Faith-filled Fridays

Pass the band-aid

Hi,
It is quite likely that you, or another member of your household, has had need of one of these sticky things (pictured left) recently - depending on how accident-prone you might be, of course. 

Me? I rarely achieve shaving my legs without resort to needing one afterwards!
You may call it a band-aid, elastoplast, sticking plaster or something else.

Whether it is boring brown, hygienic white, blue, multi-hued or patterned with comic book figures, these are a staple in most family first-aid boxes. Just the job for minor cuts and scrapes. Not a lot of use for deep wounds or profuse bleeding. 

They require different treatment, usually from a health practitioner and in a hospital environment. Sometimes we carry deep wounds that we are barely aware of - they might be physical or emotional ones but the pain they bring eventually makes itself known.

If they come to our attention then we might feel that sticking a band-aid over them is all that's required. We can get by with just that, can't we?

I used to be that way. For many years, as painful emotions rose to the surface of my mind I stuffed them back down again and covered everything up. If things became impossible to ignore or deal with by myself then I tried counselling. 

After several years of trying various therapies, including hypnosis, reiki healing, aromatherapy and homoeopathy, alongside changing counsellors (about as often as I changed my toothbrush) and admitting that sometimes these things helped but more often than not they confused and hindered my 'recovery'; I was finally shocked into getting proper help.

Eventually, after I suffered a series of devastating losses - including health and career - in desperation I turned to Christian counselling and prayerful support -  not realising how long-term (we're talking years here) and in-depth it would need to be.

During the course of pouring out my understandable distress and sorrow over the losses I had encountered, it soon became clear that one loss stood out above others:

 The loss of my innocence and being robbed of a happy childhood

Now, I didn't intend to make this blog into a confessional, but that seems to be what it's becoming. I wanted to lighten the tone with some happy thoughts, light reflections and pretty poetry and had even got as far as producing a few drafts. But God had other ideas. He isn't through with the serous issues and that seems to be the area He is asking me to focus on at the moment.

Perhaps some of you can relate to how all-consuming such losses and events as I mentioned above can be in our lives until we deal with them somehow. Perhaps others will be given a window on a world they haven't encountered before.

The purpose of sharing some of my story here is to let you know that as we confront, examine and move through the events of our past, we can come to a point of being able to Let Go. In the act of letting go - especially releasing it into God's hands - we are enabled to Move On and look to the future in a new way.

God's word reassures us that Jesus came to give us:

"A crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.." ~ Isaiah 61:3 

As an avid reader it was no surprise that I found a lot of help, support and consolation from various books during my healing journey.

The bible was (and still is) my major source of help and strength. It spoke healing into areas as I began to uncover the wounds - gingerly peeling back the layers and seeing how they festered without due attention - and allow the Holy Spirit access to them. God's loving light is a refining fire to purify and cleanse us from all impurity and remove our guilt and shame.

"Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance.." ~ Isaiah 61:7

I also gained insight, support and practical suggestions from 'Beauty for Ashes' by Joyce Meyer. Another really significant book that helped me tremendously was 'Breaking Free' by Beth Moore as it emphasises how to get rid of the various chains that hold us back from true liberty and freedom. 

Joyce Meyer's books are still a source of great inspiration for me. I have benefited greatly from reading 'Battlefield of the Mind' as it shows us how to get free from mental strongholds and learn to speak positively about ourselves and our situations. Needless to say, I am still a 'work in progress' in that area as in many others!

If I hadn't already had a relationship with The Healer and Great Physician of our souls, then I would have wanted to turn to Him as the best person to safely deal with my pain and bring beauty for ashes out of the mess and rubble of my ruined life

"Something beautiful, something good,

all my confusion He understood,

all I had to offer Him

was brokenness and strife,

                     but He made something beautiful of my life" ~ William T. Gaither

Sadly, we are not made perfect overnight once we make Jesus Lord of our lives but He does start us off on the journey leading to change, healing, wholeness, restoration and renewal.

If anything I have touched on today has struck a chord with you, then I urge you to seek the help you need to become a whole person again - perhaps you could begin by opening up to another person that you can trust, then maybe seeking medical assistance or counselling as required.

Believe me, I have been in that place and can verify that once the potentially frightening First Step is taken, then peeling away the layers bit by bit will eventually get easier and be releasing for you.

Freedom is achievable, though the process towards it can be painful.Think of it like lancing a wound to release the pus before full healing can occur. The only way out is through.

Please don't allow the poison of unforgiveness from the past to sour everything in the present with bitterness, resentment or regrets.

We all bear wounds and scars of various kinds as we travel through life. But the wound of unhealed trauma from the past will require more than a cosmetic solution. No band-aid will do.

 It may need professional help and will benefit hugely by being exposed to God's healing touch. Each person's journey will be different.

Those badges we wear - of shame, guilt, rejection  -are not permanent and don't really belong to us at all. We allow others to pin them on us, but they become part of our identity and we forget to remove them as we grow up.

If you want to consider how best to support another person with their problems, without offering more than a token band-aid solution,  then reading this post by Barry Pearman will aid your thinking.

Meanwhile, as we continue our journey towards wholeness, we can be 'Safe in His Arms' as sung by Phil Wickham. You won't regret taking a few minutes to listen to this beautiful, uplifting song.

Apologies for the lengthy writing and no poem today. But this topic needed space to be expressed properly. May God bless you and keep you safe always.

A Prayer

Dear Father,

We come to You in our weakness

in need of your strength.

We come to You with our pain

in need of Your healing.

We come to You in our confusion

in need of clarity and focus.

Thank you that You know us 

better than we know ourselves

and that You have already provided

for our every need in the person 

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Please teach us to look to Him

and let His words be our guide,

His ways our example

and His love 

our great comfort in trial and adversity.
May we discover all that we can be In Christ
and may it be life changing for us.

Amen

Time to celebrate?

Hi,
Welcome to the party. I'm in a celebratory mood. Don't worry - I've saved you a piece of cake.

What am I celebrating - do I hear you say?

The reasons are manifold.

This is definitely the season to celebrate human endeavour and achievement with the Olympics and Paralympics, both of which have been awe-inspiring.

On a more prosaic level we celebrate our own special occasions and achievements too, no matter how minor they may seem to others.

For instance, I have recently had a birthday. Perhaps some of you have too, maybe today? Congratulations!

Isn't having a birthday a cause to celebrate? Or possibly commiserate - depending on your viewpoint and your age perhaps. Either way, it is a milestone and a memory to enjoy in life's rich tapestry of the good, bad and indifferent. 

In fact, just being alive, and having family and friends to acknowledge our existence, is a great thing to appreciate and not take for granted.

If you feel lonely and isolated, however - and we can all have moments when we feel like that even in a crowd of friends and family, and wonder if anyone is really there for you, it may surprise you to know that:

'The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing' ~ Zephaniah 3:17

• Even if nobody else seems to validate your existence, remember that God cares for you and loves you very much
• We all need to feel valued
• We all need support
• Life is continually throwing up change and challenges

''There are no moments you have frozen in amber. It's moving. It's changing, so appreciate what's good about right now and be ready for what's next''~ Michael J Fox

Events like birthdays and the ever-changing seasons are a reminder of the constant slipping away of days.

I am still discovering that if we cling tenaciously to the old ways of doing and being, then we risk, not only stagnation, but spoiling the hope of better things to come.

Like some of you, no doubt, I have had painful issues to deal with from my past that threatened to completely overwhelm the present and rob it of its peace and joy. Not much of a recipe for celebrating there.

What has helped tremendously and made a lasting difference in my journey of emotional healing has been my faith in Jesus Christ  and taking the Bible seriously. 

One of the many verses that have spoken to me is Isaiah 44 :18 -19 as it reminds me that God is in control and continually working on our behalf.

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 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"

This promise is still being worked out in my life and gives me hope of seeing greater change in the future.

For those of us who may be parents, one of the 'new things' we experience is the final letting go of our children into the wider world of work, further education, marriage or just setting up home independently.

This poem about 'Letting go' (originally published in 'Individual Voices' and 'Celebrations - 15 Years Of  The People's Poetry') captures some of the emotion felt during that rather bitter-sweet event in the family when our youngest son left home to go to university.

'Letting go'

Love held him tight

as hand clasped hand;

I would not let him go.

I was the voice of reason, wisdom,

watching my seed grow.

Yet time marched on

and loosed the bond,

slowly gathering pace-

he strained for independence,

to run in his own race.

Now, still the rock

on which he leans;

crumbling, yet holding fast -

my son grows wise 

for future years,

while I cling to the past.

©JoyLenton2012

Moving on ..experiencing change

Hi,
Welcome to my 'School of Thoughts'.

Have you bought an apple for the teacher? Actually, any fruit will do. I'm not fussy. But I have a confession to make - I'm not really a teacher, either, although it does run in the family. There is no homework to do and any 'lesson' you receive from these words is incidental.

Back to the picture here. It reminds us that some young people are getting ready to meet and greet their new teacher for the first time and may be viewing it with a mixture of excitement and trepidation - as indeed may their parents. It will bring a whole host of changes to their lives, some of which may be welcome and others not.

Change - what does that word conjure up for you?

Perhaps you embrace it gratefully
Perhaps you dread it
Perhaps you feel alternately scared and happy about it

A lot depends on the type of change and whether or not you have had any say in the matter.

When I developed M.E. over 20 years ago I was ill-prepared for how my life would change from the one I had envisaged and hoped for. Subsequent health problems steered me even further from my hopes and dreams.

What has helped me is summed up in this:

'What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us' ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Change can be very unsettling. The familiar can be reassuring and comforting.

We all need a place to feel safe and secure and people we can trust. That place can be our inner life with God - an anchor of stability in life's ever-changing circumstances.

We can have great turmoil going on around us yet be at peace because God either calms and quietens us in the midst of the storms or may indeed remove them if He chooses. This promise remains though:

'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid' ~ John 14:27

Here are a few suggestions for what the process of change may involve:

• Courage
• Hope
• Adaptation
• New - ways of thinking, doing, being
• Grit - and determination to see it through
• Energy - and enthusiasm helps

I'm sure you can think of many more - all suggestions welcome!

The poem below reflects the experience of leaving school but it could also be viewed as moving from any place where the leaving is final and the leave-taking is without choice. It was written with a degree of trepidation for facing the future, at a time before I fully trusted the One who holds the future in His hands.

'Reflections on Leaving School'

Barriers down -

They

shut me out

of their personal

prisons;

bars, locks,

bolts

of bitter regret.

Nothing

can chain the feeling

that 

walls are alive.

Places 

speak to me,

softly whispering

"Good-bye".

Do heartaches,

hopes

and inspirations

wither - 

or do they

endure

beyond this

Uniformed

sky?

©JoyLenton2012