The Breathings of My Heart through Poetry - by Gloria Guest

For me, writing the ‘breathings of my heart’ as encouraged by William Wordsworth has often been a tentative sharing around the edges of my life; sometimes in one of the life lesson columns I used to write for the newspapers or perhaps in one of my blogs. Or maybe at a writers workshop or two where I opened up a part of myself I never had before.
My writing journey has been a long process of learning to trust God, myself and others and many days I still feel as if I am only on the beginning steps. Although I can write vulnerably and have, I am still hesitant to share it in a published format.  I often wish to be further up the ‘published’ staircase than I am, but it can all seem so daunting.  And so, a vital part of my journey has been learning about the gift of hope. 
It was Alexander Pope who penned the words, “Hope springs eternal,” in his 1733 Epistle, An Essay on Man. His words still ring true today.
In fact, Pope’s words remind me of a day a number of years back, when it felt like hope literally did spring right out of the desolate prairie, just for me.
I can still see myself sitting on that solitary hill on a cold spring day, ruminating over too many hopeless situations that were going on in my life.
And then I saw it; one simple little sign of life.
The following is a poem I wrote that came from the ‘breathings of my heart,’ that day on the hillside. In fact William Wordsworth himself  shared his own heart with us through his incredible gift of romantic English poetry. I find poetry to be a genre that winds more gently around those vulnerable places in my heart, wooing me to write and even share the 'breathings of my heart'  with others.

Hope

Signs of Life

Purple stems protruding from prairie earth

With snow still visible on the ground

A day when my heart seeks shelter and solace

How brave and fierce the Crocus is!

Not grown in potting shed or tended in gardeners plot

It’s undaunted courage inspires me and woos me

I cup them to my face

And inhale their fragrance of hope

While Creators breath midst prairie breeze

Surrounds my searching soul

During trying circumstance

                                                        Gloria Lynn Guest 

Writing with the Breathings of Our Heart by Loretta Bouillon

This months theme is based on William Wordsworth’s quote instructing writers to “fill your paper with the breathings of the heart” This is something that comes very natural to me. My first “journal” was given to me when I was nine years old. We called it a “diary” back then. It was a little hard-covered book that allowed five lines per day to write your thoughts. I had its own lock and key. I remember it well. It was shiny and beige. It was my treasure.

Since that time, I have filled many journals over the years. I have a box of them in my closet from the last twenty years of raising my family. The earlier volumes are really more just rantings and lamenting about difficult pregnancies, sleepless nights and longing for a moment to myself. Over the years, my daily journal has evolved into an ongoing conversation with God. These pages are still filled with lamenting and crying out to Him, but there are also many documented happy times, revelations and praises to the Lord as well.

As my relationship with the God has matured, so has my journal writing. I think there must be a balance between prayer requests and a thankful heart.  I do write with the underlying thought: “Do I want my children reading this and remembering their mother this way when I am gone?” I don’t like to journal with an “editor” in my head, however, instead, I ask God for discernment as I am writing my most personal thoughts.

When I share my experiences to encourage or inspire others, in a more public medium, I want to make sure that I do not dishonor my husband or children in any way. I often like to write about day to day life with my family so if I mention any of them, I let them read what I have written before publishing. If I share thoughts about my faith, I usually ask God what I should do with it. Is this for my own blog or other blogs that I contribute to? Could this be a submission for a magazine? Perhaps it is just a short facebook post that I feel the Lord will use to touch someone that day.

I guess when it comes right down to it, my desire is to be prayerful about everything I write, just like it is to be prayerful about everything I speak. When I write the “breathings of my heart”, I want to glorify my God always.

Write with the Breathings of Our Hearts by Sandi Somers

William Wordsworth once instructed writers to “fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But putting our feelings and “breathings” onto paper in a way that will inspire others is not as easy as it sounds.

Prompt: What have you learned about writing very personal thoughts and feelings? What advice would you give other writers about putting their “breathings of their hearts” onto paper?

Breathe in, Breathe Out

“Breathings of the heart” brings to mind the cycle of breathing in, breathing out.

Each morning I breathe in the word of God, and the Holy Spirit breathes life and healing into my messy and mysterious life.

Peace when I’m perplexed

          Clarity when I’m confused

                   Faith when I’m fearful

Then when I sit down to journal or write an article, I can breathe out His thoughts.

          Thoughts inspired by the Holy Spirit

                   Thoughts woven into a work of art

                             Thoughts to communicate God’s message

 Ponder the breathings of your own heart, and meditate on the following thoughts:

·        Stay close to God through time in the Word, time reflecting, time praying.

·        Give Him as much as you know of yourself.

·        Ask God to transform your present circumstances. He is faithful to answer you.

·        Discover how God wants to translate the themes in your life into words.

·        When you feel scared, vulnerable and exposed about putting your words on paper, trust God for the best way to tell your story.

And as you trust God, He will “translate (your words) into words of love, words that heal and transform, words that change lives, words that have eternal significance” (Marcia Laycock, speaking at our Southern Alberta WordShop, April 25).