Dayna E. Mazzuca

Leaping

having ascended the stairs named

God’s mercy, justice, and joy

in forgiveness—

on the wall made of hard, red bricks

I stood

and spread my arms to fly

out over a new sea, stretching far in every direction—

a whole new perspective

feeling not only the wind under new-found wings,

but trust—for the first time—as everything

I needed to leap the wall,

to fly

ROSES IN WINTER

We are changed when we trust. When we seek God in prayer and ask, really ask, what He would have of us, in this moment when we are up against the wall and cannot find our way. It is in this moment, He meets us in a way that changes not only our perspective or outlook on life and the situation, but that changes us, from the inside out.

Leaping is a poem that appears in my book, Roses in Winter, available on Amazon.

To take new ground

guard what has been gained

by God’s grace,

to overflow into another person’s life,

there must be less false humility, for there to be more,

more of what we prayed—

forgive; be as light as a sheet on the line

wrung free of what weighs us down,

open to the fresh breeze, asking

God for more

love for people who hurt us—

open to reconciliations,

should they come; in the meantime, stay free

value who you are,

blessed and refreshed by the Spirit

of the Living God, who is over

and above us all, even ministering angels, who wait

It’s not possible to say enough about the power of forgiveness to cleanse us from past (or more accurately, present) hurts. Or about the need we all share for this type of fresh air coming into the places that have grown stale, or stiff, feel ill-fitting, irritating… there is a way to shake this all out. A way to take new and holy ground. A way to reconcile. Come to terms. I encourage you to spend time; to go there. And see what God’s fresh wind blows in to those places, in your soul.

FOR MORE POETRY, please visit my Bookstall or check out my books of poems on Amazon.

Poetry is powerful because

To write a poem

is to voice

the stirrings of your soul,

daring

to picture someone else reading it

and relating

to the rhythm of life below

the surface, sensing

the vital as

real.

When we choose to create, we express something that is worth saying, worth sharing, worth putting ‘out there’ in a way that honours and speaks to the soulful side of who we are. This is not a part of us we need explain, or even put into words. It is simply the outflow of what’s going on inside, which is exactly where we are shaped through the process known as spiritual formation. And so, in one way, writing a poem or painting a picture, composing music, etc., is how we live into the truth of who we are, of how God made us to be. And so, we express.

FOR MORE POETRY, visit my BOOKSTALL or AUTHOR PAGE ON AMAZON.

Sadly,

close up shot of shards of a broken ceramic plate on a wooden surface

CONTEMPT does untold damage to otherwise great relationships, cutting off their future potential, sharpening all the edges, making people feel ill at ease, less than themselves and simply NOT who they are meant to be.

Holding contempt is at odds with extending grace.

Relationships require compassion, respect, and sometimes, more than a little mending. But as long as contempt is part of the picture, there is little hope of either party being able to fix things on their own.

May this find you in a place of willingness to pick up the pieces and take a closer look at what might be the true source of the pain, the problem, the misunderstanding…

For books that seek to touch on the heart of the matter – visit my BookStall at https://daynamazzuca.com/bookstall-books-for-sale-on-amazon/

Focus, Focus

Is the pressure we feel a distraction

from what the Lord would have us see?

Are we afraid to say what we’re afraid of—

tired of people making fun

of what is not fun—

needing the root to loosen, break free?

Do we long to stomp on pure and holy ground,

let the arrows fly—claim back the lost

that means so much and, no matter what has come

to pass, will always mean

so much?

Sometimes we can feel so much has been lost, even taken from us; somehow slipped from our hands when we cared so much and didn’t want to see it go. And we can give up. Despair. Settle for less. But this is not the warrior’s cry. The warrior says, “No. I will fight, on my knees. I will declare what is mine and what I have been given. I will not surrender the fight for what is lost, but might yet be gained.”

For more on the dynamics of the spiritual life, visit my BOOKSTALL.