Taking time out to rest from our usual activities for a while can enlarge our focus on the things of God. Because pausing the noise of our busy lives better equips us to listen and be in the moment.

Then we begin to notice more than we did before, and learn to pay attention, with all our senses engaged, even if we’re feeling wrung out and in need of a break.

It’s a gift that surprises me over and over again each time I’ve needed to pull back from blogging for months and ease up on my social media engagement as well.

It’s treasure found in dark places and a gift of grace to the weary and weak. It’s a gift of hope that even though we might feel broken, God cares, He holds us close, and He is willing and able to slowly piece us back together.

One of the casualties of my seasons of rest is an inability to write like I want to. I’m sometimes apt to see the silencing of my words as a punishment as I watch others (who never appear to lose the focus or flow!) freely sharing their thoughts.

But when I start to pay closer attention to my life and listen harder to God, after a while my patience is rewarded as a fresh trickle of thought appears. The same will be true for you, my friend.

My beginning again is usually patchy and poetic because that’s how I best express whatever I’m going through. So here’s a new poem for you. It’s a bit longer than most but tells a life and faith story I hope you can relate to and find new focus and soul encouragement from too. 

Receptivity 

You hear things
others fail to perceive,
ignore or take for granted,

because you are dancing
to your own
inner beat—the rhythm
of which catches 

at your breath,
holds you steady
when you are weak,

as it fills and floods
your insecure heart with
lasting joy and peace.

You are listening
with greater intent
to receive,

because without it
you feel ragged at the edges,
worn out and weary,

frayed like thread,
restlessly driven
to live more
selfishly, with a soul

emptiness that never gets
filled by achievements,
by people, by things.

You might respond 
slowly some days
because your own

inner light is more
of a flicker
than a flame,
barely alive

because the winds
of adversity,
the showers of circumstance,

the deluge of discouragement
have almost
snuffed the candle out,
time and time again.

You are aware
that a greater
Hand will always

hold you fast,
build you up,
pour out such grace

with the morning 
dew, and never
fail to take

great care of you,
nurturing that flame,
your very receptivity

of spirit, until 
it warms and glows
and grows—without limits.
© joylenton

As it’s my birthday month, and I’m celebrating a slow, tentative return to blogging, I have a **FREE** gift for you!!

You can download a free pdf copy of my book ‘Soul Shots: 31 Days of Pocket Wisdom for Your Hurting Heart’, which is an eclectic mix of encouraging prose and thoughtful poetry to help give you hope you can start again. Enjoy! :)<3

Soul Shots: 31 Days of Pocket Wisdom for Your Hurting HeartDownload