Tag: broken

when you are the owner of a broken heart

Karla Lees

Friend, today I am going to share from the heart one of the biggest lessons I have ever learned about brokenness.  My prayer is that the same God who is rebuilding the broken pieces with me will give you a glimpse of hope where you are feeling broken.

Maybe you and I, we’re never meant to be complete. Could we just be broken together? If you can bring your shattered dreams and I’ll bring mine. Could healing still be spoken and save us? The only way we’ll last forever is broken together. – Broken Together- Casting Crowns

Relationships are hard.

Especially the ones with the people you interact with every day.

Because in our own way, deep down within each of us, we are broken.

Some more than others, but no one walks this earth unscathed in some way.

Not even Jesus did.

I have found that when I am feeling broken, I have a tendency to hide away, lick my wounds and brood. Occasionally, a full blown cry fest erupts, leaving me exhausted on top of the broken pieces I am trying so hard to hold together.

But we were designed for community. With our best friends and families, but especially in marriage, if we have been blessed with that gift.

These past 25 years together, my hubby and I have had a lot of mileage into the realm of brokenness. It has been harder than I imagined at times, more painful than I ever thought, and gone deeper than I ever dreamed possible.

Yet together we are stronger because of it, for we can see God moving better in each other at times than we can sense Him moving within ourselves.

Building one another up when the other is feeling low. Being the shoulder to cry on when we need to let it out.

Because the secret to being broken in a marriage and still staying married?

The three stranded cord.

By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.  Ecclesiastes 4:12 (MSG)

When even one of you invite God into your marriage, He intertwines Himself into it. He becomes the stabilizer, the marriage counselor. He gives you the love to express when you feel empty, yet your hubby needs to know you care. He gives your hubby the strength to just listen & tell you he loves you.

Without God, our marriage would not have made it this far.

Because in our own strength we would have run on empty long ago.

It’s not about having made a bad pick, or being a mismatched pair.

It’s making the one you are with your mate, supported by the Love that never fails, never gives up and never runs out on either of you, or your marriage.

If you know you are broken and need help, pray and ask God to bring you to the right resources, or bring the best help to you.

Your spouse’s brokenness isn’t for you to heal, that is His job. They need your support and love as they face their own brokenness and support you in yours.

God knew when He designed marriage that we would need one another:

In better, in worse.
In sickness, in health.
With wealth, without much.
Whether whole or broken.

The amazing thing I have found? My hubby and I have not been so broken in the same ways that we couldn’t be there for one another. Often not perfectly, but present none the less.

In His mercy, He makes us the mate our spouse needs. Whether we have broken bits or not.

Only God can take what is broken, and shape it to make something beautiful.

  • He is with us, every step of the journey.
  • His Presence draws closer with every request for Him to come and be nearer.
  • His love, strength, grace and mercy are more than enough for what you and your spouse may face today.

He longs to restore and repair where we are broken, and can do amazing things when we place ourselves in His hands.

Broken together with the Potter makes for a beautiful finish beyond belief.

When we give Him all the pieces, He can make us whole again, one piece at a time.

broken together

#broken #hopefortheharddays #hopeinHisPresence

He hears…

Karla Lees

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

Crushed.

You let someone down, failed to meet that deadline, were passed over for the position or promotion, lost your one person whose love made your heart soar.

What crushes one heart may vastly vary from another, but we each can be crushed when the weight of loss or our choices come crashing down upon us.

And when we are crushed, we can forget we are not alone there.

No one else on earth may fully comprehend what you are going through. No two of us are exactly identical through and through, as we have each been made unique.

We might resemble another on the outside, yet our experiences, emotions and energies can set us apart in an instant.

There is One who hears what we may not be able to form into words in the moment our spirits are crushed.

For He doesn’t need our spoken words to know what’s on our hearts.

God can hear your heartsong whether you speak it out or keep it unspoken.

He hears your cry as you emit your brokenness, in the very moment your spirit screams in pain.

For crushing is painful.

But nothing is lost in His plans or purposes for us. Not even our crushing.

God knows the plans He has for us, and they are good. For our good, from our good, good Father, who has our best in mind.

He knew the crushing would come, so He knows how to comfort and restore us once it has.

If like me, you feel crushed today, may you hear the truth of His promises to you:

He is always with you.

He not only loves you but adores you.

He knows everything about you, as only a Maker can.

He sees all that happens to you, and cares so much about your pain that He keeps eveything tear you cry.

He hears all, spoken and unspoken, and is always listening for you. He loves to hear from you.

God will never stop coming to your rescue. He may have eternally saved us once and for all, but the Word is filled with His love in action as He continually comes for those He loves. To protect, to heal, to rebuild, to make new, to give hope, to guide.

Today, draw near to Him just as you are. Crushed, broken, needy, unlovely, worried, anxious or fearful.

He promises to meet us where we are, and never leave us there alone.

Our spirits may be crushed in the now, but I keep pressing forward into His embrace.

For I know the only way I was meant to fly is when He lifts me up and breathe new life into this form once again.

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This post was shared at “A Grateful Heart” link up today: http://embergrey.com/epic-weekends/ #agratefulheart

second hand and broken

Karla Lees

The Bible is full of people who didn’t get it right the first time.
People who ended up broken & down on their luck.
Those who betrayed, wounded & ridiculed one another.

And God loves each one.

In this age where society raises people up to high pedestals and assists in crashing them down when they fall, because we all know we fail at one point or another….it is important to remember one key factor.

God isn’t surprised by any of it.

He knows humanity inside and out.

It was His concept.

We were His idea.

And still are.

God has spent millions of hours & resources, even paying the cost for our sins, since Adam & Eve first went astray in the Garden of Eden.

He knows what we are all capable of within.

When we don’t follow Him, we become the enemy’s playtoy, part of his plan to destroy humanity from within.

God has other plans in place, underway and moving forward

His Kingdom will come to pass here on earth.

The enemy is being and will be forevermore defeated.

In God’s timing,
through His Word
& the second hand and broken vessels He chooses to equip & strengthen in battle.

We all have the ability to live a Remade, new life.

It begins with getting to know God.

And there is no better place to start than His Word.

Inside it, you will find phenomenal stories of His love in action, restoration & new beginnings, woven throughout humanity’s attempts to try to live without Him.

If you are in need of direction, a helping hand, peace, or love, the God you will discover within the Bible’s cover will amaze you.

You see, the Bible is the only hook where the Publisher poured Himself out in words through the second hand broken vessels He chose to use to tell His story.

And He continues to speak through those who listen for His voice, and choose to give Him their all as they do.

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The message of the Bible is clear, no matter which translation you read it in.

God loves you.

Just as you are.

And will lovingly, patiently & carefully remake you into the one He has loved from the moment you came to be.

And loves all the more when you decide to let Him take you beyond your sin & past.

Second hand things still have value, despite their age or broken parts.

When a Master Craftsman puts them back together, and places them exactly where they were meant to be, they find their true purpose.

Yours is within the covers of this Book, and found in the embrace of the God who has described Himself within.

Open the Bible, and let the Author not only highlight who He is to you, but how He sees you, both right now & forevermore.

The Bible contains heaven’s Hope for all humanity, especially those who feel cast aside & broken.

Sunday Psalm: Humpty Dumpty no more

Karla Lees

I was Humpty Dumpty,
sitting on the wall,
shakily leaning
one way then the other,
until one great shake
caused me to lose my balance
& have a hard fall.

I hit the ground hard,
shattered & cracked
and there I lay,
hurting, in pain, broken.

And then
You came along
& gently picked up my pieces,
lovingly restored me to life,
and painstakingly
mold me into Your vessel again.

Through the fire
You walk with me
as I am lead
to become strong again,
an increasingly used vessel
in the hand of the Potter
who made me
for just such a purpose.

My value is set in Your eyes,
the glow i give off after the fire
radiates Your glory
to all those around me,
as I seek You
for daily filling,
that You may overflow out
through me,
now Your
beautifully broken vessel.

Now fully
put back together,
in the hands
of my King,
shining with His passion,
beating with His heart,
standing in His Presence
scarred but firm in His grip
secure on His sure foundation.
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#SundayPsalm

Hope in the broken

Karla Lees

Our brokenness opens us to a deeper way of sharing our lives and offering each other hope.   -Henri Nouwen

Yesterday, I had an overloading revelation while listening to a guest speaker at my church.

He reminded me of a verse that God has been whispering into my spirit a great deal lately:

They defeated the enemy through the blood of the Lamb & the bold word of their witness. – Rev 12:11 MSG

My testimony is filled with brokenness.

But covered in His blood as I stand under the shadow of His wings, He can use my testimony to bring hope to the broken around me.

For my broken bits have as much value as my gifts & talents in His hands.

Nothing is wasted in His Kingdom.

My history becomes HiStory when I open my mouth to speak or sing it or lift my hands to type it.

For my brokenness has been where God has moved in me the most, for it is where I depend all the more on His strength.

My brokenness reveals Him through my scars.

Like tattoos, each scar tells a story of where God met me in that broken moment, showing how He restored, healed, comforted, guided me beyond it.

My imperfections highlight His perfection.

No matter the struggle, the skirmish or hardship, God has proven Himself over & over to be with me in every single moment of brokenness I have encountered on this earth. He can be the Hope you need in your brokenness too.

May He shine through your gifts & talents, but even all the more through the cracked glimpses into Your former brokenness.

May your testimony smear hope on the hearts of all who hear, see or read it, and draw them closer to the Hope-giver.

All our hope can be and is found in Him.
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broken to life

Karla Lees

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24 ESV

Jesus died for the broken.

Those who were broken in ways beyond just what can seen:

  • broken in spirit
  • broken-hearted
  • broken in the mind,
  • broken in body.

But also for those who are:

  • broken because of their sin.

I find the weight of my own sin can sometimes break me in ways i never expected.

Selfishness can lead to isolation and loneliness, and down the path to choosing more things which keep that spiral of me swirling down and out of control.

And i need to be reminded: Jesus came for the broken.

There is one more type of broken that Jesus covered with His brokenness:

  • those who need taming

The strong willed ones (like moi) who need to be broken in order to submit.

We all are broken, or need to be broken depending on the circumstances.

  • I tend to find other people’s sins towards me break me
  • I need to be broken based on my own sins & bad choices

That is why Jesus died so painfully on the cross.

He chose to be broken so He can bring hope to the broken, no matter what has broken us.

He chose to rise again to show He can bring life to the dead, the places within us we think are beyond hope, beyond healing.

He chose to die so we could live.

Because it is He who brings us back to life.

Our part?

To come with our brokenness and sin, and ask for His help.

His part?

The part He loves?

  • To answer our cry.
  • To touch us with His hands.
  • To infuse us with his love.
  • To rebirth life into our dry bones.
  • To make us new in ways we could not imagine on the other side of our brokenness.
  • To give wings to our hope.

Ready for new life? 

It doesn’t matter if  or how you are broken, the Master Carpenter is more than able to take our broken pieces and make us anew!

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

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snapshots along the way: broken to Passover

Karla Lees

1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” 6 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” 7 The Jews[a] answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” 8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.9 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

12 From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 13 So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic[b] Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour.[c] He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.  John 19:1-16 (ESV)

While the preparations were under way for Passover, Jesus was preparing to sit at a different table.

Pilate might have thought he was the ultimate judge on the judgment seat at Gabbatha, but the real Judge would be raised up at Golgatha.

He knew there was no other way for us to pay the price for our costly sin.

Don’t you realize that He tried every other way

Throughout the Scriptures, God continued to try and save as many of His people as He could.

Through deliverance, answered prayer, prophets, the Kings – God never stopped rescuing His people from themselves.

He  knew it would take an ultimate act only by His hand to release the freedom only He could command.

He could not pass-over the sins of the world any longer.

The Passover blood, previously seen as a symbol of death passing over became the full blown expression of His heart accepting the sacrifice of His own Son’s live giving blood for us to be restored.

As His life flowed out, our life, our real life, could begin.

The Lamb went willingly to the cross, enduring the betrayals, strikes, blows, beating, humiliation & mocking which we should have received.

For even on the cross, in dreadful pain, He could not help trying to save those he came to set free.

The thieves, His best friend, His mother…. and all of us yet to be.

The cost?  One sacrifice paid the debt humanity had built up against the very one who set the plan in motion from the beginning of time.

He was broken, to death to appease the Law.

And for a split second after He breathed His last labored breath, and gave Himself up to His plan, the enemy thought he had won.

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, & the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city & appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him,keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake & what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:50-54

And with His death, there was immediate victory released, although the best was yet to come.   The soldiers stationed at the cross believed.

Can you imagine? You were one of the soldiers who mocked Him, flogged Him, stabbed His with your spear or forced Him to carry the cross…and after you did your job, your eyes were opened to the truth of who it was you helped to kill?

God wasn’t surprised.

It is only when we become aware of just how broken we are, and how dirty our hands are that we can acknowledge Jesus as our desperately needed Savior.

His broken body, His precious blood.

Given up for you and I.

The first Communion lived out only hours after He revealed it was to come to His disciples.

Broken so God can now Passover our sins, because the full price was paid in Jesus.

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snapshots along the Way: He Knew

Karla Lees

You knew.

You knew that the same people who cried Hosanna as You entered Jerusalem were the same ones who would pick up the stones to judge one another’s sin, and nail You to the cross.

You knew.

You knew we all hide our brokenness under the cover of what we think others want us to be and the pain, shame and agony of holding in our sin & the sin done to us could not be set free any other way.

You knew.

You knew this before You came.
God with us.
Yet You came anyway.

You knew this & kept it in the forefront of Your thought as You helped landscape the earth, design the canopy of stars & planets in the skies above, fashion the depths of the ocean floors, hang the sun and moon in place and set the seasons on their annual rotation.

You knew.

You knew the man and woman You fashioned with such care and love would stray and break Your heart, and let sin enter us all, yet You went ahead with Your plan anyways.

Because You knew Your bride would be worth it.

Honestly God, there are times I don’t get it. Like Hosea, I struggle with the love You ask me to show, yet I know You love me so deeply and permanently, despite all I do.

You know.

You know me better than i know myself.

You know all of us this way.

And because of this love, hearing the inner cry of the broken we all cry within the secret places we keep hidden, You chose to come and be one of us.

To show us how depending 100% on Abba can make a difference in how we can live our lives.

To show us just how far Love will go to show the one He loves the enormity of His affection & longing.

To show us we never have to be alone again.

As we head along the journey once again towards the cross, may we take the time to admit we are the reason He had to head there.

We needed to see His love in action in order to get, to grasp, just how much He loves us.

He knew.

#snapshotsalongtheWay
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name the doubt & grab His hem

Karla Lees

I am more than a bit timid when it comes to asking God for something i want for myself.

In fact, I tend to ask for myself as a tag along, or add on at the end of praying for other people’s needs.

Which isn’t a healthy symptom at all.

You see, that likely means i am not submitting to the fullness of what God has for me.

By struggling to try and cope on my own, i miss out not only on the strength He has for me, but experiencing His care and growing in our relationship.

And I am oh so tired of caring for myself on my own.

I remember reading the verses about the woman with the bleeding issue when i was first a believer, and relating to her:

And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.  Luke 8:43

I too have had an issue with cysts and heavy bleeding since i was 14 years old.  No one has been able to stop it here on earth. I am thankful that it has slowed with medical intervention & eating a healthier diet (staying away from too much caffeine along with all soy & dairy has helped develop less cysts and keep my hormones more in check), but it has not been healed so far…

And today, I acknowledge to myself, God and all of you,  my heart has stopped believing in my dream…. to be able to say the following as part of my testimony:

She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. Luke 8:44

Boy, putting that into words both hurts and feels freeing to my spirit.

I say i believe, but my trust in His best plan for me has waffled over this issue….literally, of blood.

I believe, I know He can heal, for I have both seen it and experienced it in other ways.

But will He?

The Word reminds us God is our healer in many places, and how He has the best in store for those who love & follow Him.  I believe in that truth deep down.

His capability is not in question in my mind or heart.

His will is for me to be whole, fully restored, and healed.

But will He heal me in this area?

Ultimately, I know when I meet Him face to face as i enter eternity, I will be the me He planned for me to be since creation.  And i do draw comfort in that actuality, that fact yet to pass.

But will He heal me in this area now?

Timing becomes the question… I want His healing now.  I am weary of having spent 20 years of gross frustrating embarrassing and exhausting at times handling this issue.

And that is the crux of the problem.

I have been gripping this issue too tightly.

I have not fully let go of it and gripped on to His hem.

I am tired of trying to hold it all together, Lord.

I am letting go of my timing, my desires for You to heal  me on my terms.

I am grabbing the hem of Your robe, pressing in and refusing to let go.

Because I KNOW You want me healed.

I speak this out right now, I believe You’re my Healer.

You can, You want to, and You will heal me.

And until Your timing is released for this issue of blood to be removed from me, You will be more than enough to keep me in the midst of my struggle.

You have been for me since before I was born, and always will be.

I surrender my doubts that You don’t care about me enough to heal me, You may not ever heal me while I am here on earth, and I am not worthy to be healed.

Because of what You did on the cross, Jesus, You have made me worthy through the covering of Your blood. I can approach with confidence because the veil has been torn, and You invite me to come.  The One who rose from the grave? He is more than able.

And like the daughter in this story, I do not go unnoticed. You are keeping Your eye on me.

I pray that how the story ended for the woman in Luke 8 ends the same for me, but I am determined not be hiding when You do heal me, God, but shouting it from the rooftops. May You build in me the Rock solid faith I need for my healing to come to pass because of Your touch:

 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.  When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”  But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

Reader,  did you know its okay to have doubts?

Its not okay to keep your doubts hidden.

We need to bring them out into the light of His presence, so He can help us seem them in alignment with His truth, and who He is.

Doubts hidden become strongholds of the enemy, giving him space in our minds where he was never meant to roam, and begin to trap our spirits in chains from the pit.  

God made us to long for more.

Come as you are to God. He loves us as we are….whether wounded, broken, hurting, doubting, fearful, angry, insecure, lonely.  He never makes us feel bad for our feelings, but as He pours His love into us, we can be healed and made whole beyond imagining.

He is and always will be more than enough for all we need, and works tirelessly to bring His design for us into reality!

So I will never let go of Your hem God. Because close to You is where i was meant to be.

 

 

 
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where are you drawn to sit?

Karla Lees

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I don’t know about you, but I am much more comfortable with a person who is down to earth than one who thinks too highly about themselves.

Oh sure, they may have cool skills, or have completed awesome tasks with accolades, but humility within a person is what truly makes them great.

I love how Jesus came amongst us:

Humble, born to a good family that had fallen on hard times with their country being occupied by outsiders.

A knowledgeable man who knew His bible inside & out (coz He is part author!) yet took the time to put it into story & fable for common folk to grasp its meaning, yet smart enough to outwit the best scholars of His day. A rabbi for everyone, not just His disciples.

A skilled man who got His hands dirty learning a trade, who camped in the outdoors & walked everywhere.

A compassionate man who never turned down a genuine request.  Who made the best wine come at the time when the cheapest is usually served.

The one who walked the path to the cross and suffered such pain, humiliation, affliction and soul torment to reunite us to Himself, once and for all.

The one who sat with the IRS, mentally ill, blue collared workers, drop outs and zealots.  Let a woman he was not married to pour an extravagant costly amount of perfume over His feet mixed with her tears as she applied it.  The one who talked with those who weren’t His people, yet showed them kindness when the custom was to stay well apart.

The one who saves the best for last humbled Himself to death, letting the enemy think he had won.

But God knew the end of that story, and which was & is: His story will never end, but last forever!

If i have to choose between sitting with the low of my day- the single moms, the divorced, the broke, the homeless, the strugglers… versus those who might have it all together in appearances but not give me the time of day? I choose to stay with the humble.

I am so happy to be in His stronghold that I am content to sit anywhere, as long as I can see Jesus!

Now, don’t get me wrong. I want to sit on His lap, be wrapped in His embrace, and gaze adoringly into His eyes & face.

And I know He wants me to, coz He adores me.

Yet I can see Him in the love that flows between the humble ones I choose to sit with. The ones who struggle to pay their bills, to care for difficult family members, who suffer loss and experience grief. For I am one of the broken, the lost that He came to save and restore.

Jesus humbled himself to our level, to meet our needs face to face. I can not but do the same.

When we humble ourselves as He leads, He will lift us up. Maybe not in the material ways we tend to associate with greatness, but His word promises He will lift us up.

I would rather hear His voice say “Well done!” than live in a mansion with everything I could desire, save Him..

I have seen enough power struggles on the news and the lives of those closest to me to know that greatness apart from God has no eternal value.

So yes, I would rather humbly walk the slow walk with one I am ministering to as He leads, than hobnob with those who are rich & famous, and full of their own self importance.

It is who we are within that reveals true greatness, not what is only skin deep on the outside, or actions which don’t last into eternity.

I choose to sit at the same tables Jesus did, and walk with those He walked beside, because I too am broken & know just how much I need Him.

Note: I am NOT saying humble people who do great things are haughty. Haughty comes out as an expression of the heart. Nor am I saying not to do great things. Allow God to promote you as you seek Him, not the accolades.