Letting go and moving on

Much of my life lately has felt like a waiting season where I gaze wistful as others go about their days.

A place where quiet speaks loud of all God desires me to hear.

For several months now I've been asked to sit still, to rest, to learn the value of silence and contemplation as I pace and recover from a relapse in the M.E symptoms.

I ache to birth the books within, to engage more fully socially, to be a more active participant in life's journey.

Summer's vitality and colour spring up in abundance all around me, offering invitation to embrace, join in. And it's been hard feeling set aside, being less active than before.

But I've needed to learn to heed what is required of me and what needs to be let go of.

And as I listened more closely, I sensed God asking me to widen my vision for this blog and writing in general. He has more planned for me than I ever imagined.

His timing may not be one of my choosing but will bear the most fruit for the future.

'Words of Joy' has a new home at wordsofjoy.me on WordPress. It seems I've outlived this space. 

It's time to move on, stretch out faith-fingers toward an unknown future.

It feels scary, uncertain and strange right now. Change doesn't come easy for me. I ache for safe and familiar. Maybe you too?

But truth be told, without the stir of change I'm in danger of stagnation and sinking into an unthinking, albeit comfortable, routine.

We all need change. It's inevitable and essential for opportunity and growth, learning, maturation and adaptation, for all the new things God wants to reveal to us.

Change will look different for each one of us but it will stretch and teach us just the same. So I am readying myself for the inevitable as God calls me elsewhere.

Meanwhile, letting go and moving on also feels quite liberating and strangely exhilarating too. 

An act and leap of faith into the unknown...

A new home. Fresh start. Trusting that words will come as before. Trusting God knows what lies ahead.

It won't be an all-singing-all-dancing site - I'm not tech-savvy enough for that. But it will have a warm welcome waiting for you just the same.

Because home is where the heart is, right? And my heart is always in my writing.

The new place is still very much a work in progress, just like me.

I hope you'll extend grace as we make it a comfortable space to be together.

The paintwork is still a bit wet behind the ears, much like its owner.

There may be several alterations to come, some furniture to shift around.

But I sense I should move anyway and trust God to show me how to shape it as I write.

Because without Holy Spirit inspiration, grace and equipping I wouldn't be able to write at all.

Come and join me at the new look 'Words of Joy'? I'd love to have your company.

Please re-subscribe there to get new posts delivered to your in-box. 

Here's my new address: wordsofjoy.me

Coffee's on..see you soon! Blessings and love, 

Joy :)

When creativity lies dormant

Words sing in my spirit, seeking their exit. Ready to explode upon the page. 

I hug some close, for now is not their time. They must lie dormant and wait a while.

A poetry anthology (or 2) sit on the back-burner, simmering slow.

A set of prayer whispers and devotional prayers lie stagnant.  

A memoir meanders round my head, only partly started. Will I be here to complete it?

I sit impatient, twiddling my thumbs at my ineptitude and inability to complete those things I long to bring forth. 

God whispers:Everything has its moment to arise and be seen. Not yet.. soon...be patient a while longer.

All that is within me cries out "Really?", until I remember how seeds lie dormant before they burst into glorious life, how ground seems dead and fallow until it is ploughed.

Watching while others gain their harvest can be painful. 

Waiting for God to say "Yes" to us can seem endless, can't it?

I feel my years slipping as sand and wonder why it takes so long to see fruit appearing.

Once again, I sense a holy reminder of how much fruit is invisible to us, but He knows.

He knows how to shape the things we create until they are ready to be a blessing.

He knows who needs to read our words, receive our art, and when they should be shared.

He knows how things that seem ready to us still require His refining touch.

And He's more interested in growing Holy Spirit fruit in our lives than making sure we see tangible evidence of the works of our hands.

They will have their day. Even if all looks barren and bleak, cold as ice and deep as snow.

New life, new birth returns to earth after winter's chill, after long periods of seeming inactivity.

So will our work, our words, our creativity rise anew when God breathes His life into them and whispers, "Now".

'Arising'

A tiny germ of life beats slow

beneath frozen depths of snow

Unseen by mere mortal eyes

it sits patient, waiting to rise

Heeding the call, clear and deep,

shaking off sonorous sleep

it pushes its way through icy ground

blanketed by silence all around

Drawn out of shadows dark

into earth hostile and stark

Arising in white fragile purity

A reminder of new birth breaking free

©JoyLenton2015

The same is true of our hopes and dreams, goals and schemes.

If they are God-given ones, then they will rise strong at Just The Right Time ~ His timing.

I know I've felt stagnant and stalled, stuck in the mud lately, mainly due to the daily health challenges I face and the weariness they bring.

Your reasons may differ. What we will have in common is a great desire to unleash our creativity and have it positively impact the lives of others.

And as I ponder these things, I actually sense God asking me to pull back from sharing my words here (and on 'Poetry Joy'), just for a while.

To let them deliberately lay dormant. To desist for a bit from sharing them on a blog. 

Because He knows things, you see.. He knows how much I need to lean into Him this Lenten season, to rest and recover energy and strength, to become restored, refreshed, revitalised by His Spirit. 

Am I giving in gracefully? Surrendering with serenity?

Hmm.. a little, although those insidious people-approval issues and "What ifs?" make this a hard choice for me, albeit a necessary one.

My priorities are to draw closer to God, regain some needful health and strength and be more available to my family.

While I am away (having some extra catnaps Zzz...), please feel free to dig into the archives, especially if you are new around here. I hope and pray you will come away blessed and encouraged by what you read.

I will continue scribbling out my words, and some may even find their way onto my Facebook page in the interim should God inspire and equip me to share them.

Maybe you're in a season of hibernation, sitting out a time when sap will rise again?

Take heart, friend. God isn't finished with you yet. While we have life and breath we are on active service in His kingdom. Age and circumstance are no barrier in His eyes.

One day, it will be your time and your turn and your work will have the audience it deserves. Hang on in hope. Our God is faithful.

God bless you all until we meet again. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Feel free to leave a comment or prayer request here. Love, Joy :) <3

A prayer for those who are in waiting

One of the hardest things we have to do in life is to wait for things.

As an instant gratification society, waiting seems anachronistic and decidedly unwelcome. 

Shouldn't everything happen straightaway at the push of a button? Not necessarily. The best things in life are worth waiting for.

Waiting on God is challenging. We know He is always busy behind the scenes with bringing His plans for our lives to fruition.

Only, it can all take so long. We wonder if we've been forgotten about.

Our hearts grow weary. Our hope withers and dies. Our faith feels misplaced.

Answers to prayer can be especially hard to hold on for. I've waited for healing (amongst other things) for many years.

My friend, you are far from alone. I know how it feels. And, more importantly, so does God.

He sees, hears, understands and is ready and able to come alongside us in our questioning.

His wisdom and discernment help us to judge when time is ripe to move ahead. So, let's consider our position:

If...you have been sitting in the same place so long you've grown roots

If...you feel left out, neglected, overlooked, alone

If...seasons come and go and yours has never come

If...others are receiving all the breaks, the kudos, the applause

Then this prayer may be for you...

'A Prayer for those in waiting'

Father,

We sit as dormant seeds, 
bulbs brown-ugly 
bursting with promise

of life, beauty, energy, growth, 
sweet fragrance stirring to be released,

buried ~ deep darkness surrounding within, without

in soil that hangs heavy, clinging and clogging,

choking us when we try to rise above it.

Surely we were planted 
with a hope of seeing Spring,

with life and potential welling up within,

with goodness seeking to be expressed

with Your hands guiding us in place
and selecting only best?

If that is so, how can we still be waiting

for our moment to arrive,

for life to erupt from what is sealed,

for transformation and change

for Your glory to be revealed?

We watch, curious, with envy half-concealed 

as neighbouring plants grow green, 

shooting strong and true, 

their foliage shades our light

their colours vivid we can see

and we wonder what on earth 

You have created us to be.

Tangled up in troubles for today 
and shackled by worries for tomorrow, 
muddied by a morass of mishaps
sullied by sickness and sorrow, 
discouraged by dis-ease of every kind
our lives feel barren and fruitless,
our hearts weary and resigned.

Until You call and we bend an ear
to a Voice we long to hear,
the balm for every doubt
the solace for every fear.
This is no accident, my child,
your roots dig deep to draw from wells
of Grace and Love, of Faith and Trust.

If all were easy would it mean so much?
If all were simple would you wait on Me?
If all were quick would you tarry here?
If all was show and substance
would you hang around?
I plant you where in due time I choose
you'll have no thorny ground.

I plant you so that come The Day
you will reflect My Light
your colours will glow bright
working through the soil of pain
pushing up to make a mark 
and bring glory to My Name.

For My best work is done in darkness
slow, but sure and strong.
So don't give up 
and don't despair 
if it all takes so long, 
for I don't give up on you
~ rising strong and true.

©JoyLenton2014

"I am still confident of this:I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord' be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" ~ Psalm 27:13-14 

**Confession** ~ This poetic prayer sat dormant in draft form waiting for such a time as this. I had so many areas of life I could have written about for:"You are not alone" {living with M.E and chronic illness, being housebound, overcoming abuse and depression etc.} but God reminded me of this entry and the fact that so many of His beloved children grow weary in waiting to see change.

My hope and prayer is that you will be blessed and encouraged in the reading of it.

And know that you are definitely not alone in whatever you may be going through. 

Joining here with Holley, Michelle, and Jennifer