Tag: cracks

cracky foundations

Karla Lees

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When we try to build our lives, often we attempt to build them like a house builder does.

With a firm foundation.
Straight boundary lines.
Properly insulated, heated & wired.
Secure roof.
Working plumbing.
Well maintained.
Both welcoming & safe.

All it takes is one crack in the foundation that goes unchecked to undermine the stability of the whole house.

Or in this case, our life.

One sin or lie, unchecked, has the ability to grow & deepen and attract more like minded elements set on expanding that crack & shaking our foundation.

And when your foundation is based solely on the works of your hands, the aftermath of a large crack can be devastating. Leaving you shattered, broken and hopeless.

God reminds us throughout the Word that He is to be our foundation.

For He alone is solid enough to last, secure enough to never crumble, and able to keep us protected under His covering.

When we allow that small unchecked crack- whether a sin, a lie or an area of disbelief we refuse to bring to Him- we open a door for the enemy to widen that crack in our foundation.

Time spent with Him in prayer & worship, studying the Word, listening & seeking His face every day is not only the best preventative measure you can make to protect your foundation, but to restore & heal the cracks you may already have.

I find that when I listen to my own thoughts or pain too much, without bringing them to the Lord or into line with His Word, a crack begins to form within.

If I leave it exposed to the elements without asking God to fix it, it expands faster than I can imagine.

One can become many when left unchecked.

Sin & lies are like yeast. You only need a small amount of yeast in a recipe, but it spreads throughout the other ingredients, linking them together to become something new.

In the case of the enemy, a small sin we think no one else will discover & keep to ourselves can lead to more & more decisions leading us down a path we never meant to head down but now can’t stop following without intervention.

One lie left unchecked magnetically attracts more, and once it gains enough strength, will begin to repel the truth to keep itself secure.

It only takes one spark to ignite an out of control fire.

God knew from the beginning we would need Him to be our foundation.

And He also knew we would fail to build solid lives without Him.

Jesus Himself came to be the cornerstone, the most important part of every foundation.

And because of His great love, Jesus ripped through the fabric of time & space, morality & law, to make the way for all to have Him not only save them, but to become their Rock.

The Rock of all ages.
Solid. Eternal. Holy. True. Secure.
All we could ever need for a solid foundation.

And He doesn’t just stop there.

Holy Spirit helps us on a daily basis to bring our foundation under His eye & seek where work may need to be done, or where previously done repairs may need to be reinforced.

There are many, many verses which touch upon God being our foundation, the Rock to build our lives upon.

Here are five such verses to ponder & memorize, to dig your teeth into & weave into your foundation.

For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
-1 Corinthians 3:11 ESV

These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
– Matthew 7:24-25 MSG

In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
– 1 Timothy 6:19, NIV

He alone is my rock and my deliverance, my citadel high on the hill; I will not be shaken.
– Psalm 62:2 VOICE

But the Lord has become my High Tower and Defense, and my God the Rock of my refuge.
– Psalm 94:22 AMP

the cracking points

Karla Lees

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There is hope despite the pressures we face that try to break us down.

Yesterday, I was reminded by God that He holds me all together…
that my cracks shine with His Presence when I depend on Him.

And how I need Him!

When the pressing comes,
He makes sure I am not crushed.
He holds me.

When the persecution hurts,
He reminds me He is with me. Always.

When the panic sets in,
He reminds me He will never abandon me.
Ever.

When I am struck down,
He keeps me from being destroyed.
He puts me back on my feet.
Shielding me.

Whenever the enemy tries to curse me, He turns it into blessings.
His promises ensure.
His alone, forever.

When the way seems dark & dreary, He fills me with joy.
Restores my purpose.
Every morning,
fresh mercy.

So my cracks may show the wear and tear of life, but my Potter’s purposes for me will come to pass.

Finding life hard right now?

Pursue His Presence.
Press in to the Word.
Proclaim the Promises.
Purpose to trust.
Believe Him Able
to do the Impossible.

May He make Himself known in way you could never have believed possible as you seek Him!

unadorned cracked pot

Karla Lees

We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives.

2 Cor 4:7a MSG

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

2 Cor 4:7 NIV

But this beautiful treasure is contained in us – cracked pots made of earth and clay – so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us.

2 Cor 4:7 The Voice

This past few weeks have been ones where a few more of my cracks seems to have become wider gaps.

I feel stretched.

As the Potter’s hand works on clay, He keeps needing to wet the clay in order to reshape it.

When i stop seeking His living water, I get too dry.

And cracks form in my pot as it hardens.

The good news?

God can soften hard pots.

But it leaves cracks behind.

I heard a story about a young gal who had to carry water in a cracked pot back & forth, day in and day out. By the time she got home there wasn’t the amount of water she started out with.

Long story short, beautiful flowers appeared on the side of the road where the water had been dripping, day after day.

God never wastes, not one single drop, from our cracks.

I have often wondered if I didn’t have the flaws & foibles I had if God would use me as much….because i suspect i wouldn’t feel the need for Him as acutely as I do throughout my days.

Today, I felt the cracks, after a few days of God soaking & spinning & pressing & smoothing.

I know how much I need Him, the more He sets me free & guides me.

To Him, I am chosen.
To the world, I appear a pudgy married mom of two young adults, with curly red hair & glasses, with a zany sense of humour, who loves words, tea and right now in this cold spell, her heating pad. 🙂

An unadorned cracked pot.

Yet God chooses to use me…

I know that when I have met someone who radiates Jesus, I don’t pay as close attention to their cracks or flaws….I see Jesus pouring out through them.

That’s my heart’s desire.

To be cracked in all the right places for Jesus to shine through me, so although I am humble clay, the Almighty can use me for His glory.

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The Good News Message for us all?

God can use all of us, despite our cracks, chips & holes.

It’s about our availability, our holding out our hands to be filled, not about our capability.

It’s about His ability, to use the cracked, broken & lowly to shoe the world just how loving, graceful, kind, mighty & powerful He really is!

I’m a cracked pot, how about you?

cracks in the ground

Karla Lees

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The hard placeswithin
cry out for a thaw,
for an outpouring:
of Your
living water,
a fresh breeze of Your Presence,
the radiance of Your face
and burn of Your love
to melt away the
crust formed over
my heart.

Underneath
the seeds
You have planted
are impatient
to erupt,
to emerge
from under the barrier
they have been straining against,
in their effort
to obey the call
of their Creator.

As the thaw continues,
cracks emerge,
fine lined at first,
but space for new growth
begins to look possible.

Seeking more rain,
more Son,
more wind,
the season of my heart
continues towards spring.

The cracks widen
and the first of the seeds
emerges
in its beautiful greenery,
stretching up to
greet a new day
of possibility.

The bud begins to show
as the garden of my hear
continues to grow.

Despite the cold swirling
all around
this new life
is springing up
from the former hard ground.

You make everything new,
and make beautiful things
out of us.

#hopeinHisPresence

cracked

Karla Lees

Forget your perfect offering 
There is a crack in everything 
That’s how the light gets in.

-Leonard Cohen

Those who know me best know I am slightly cracked.

Not just because I have an off the wall sense of humor at times, but for a lesser known reason.

I believe its okay not to be okay all the time.

I know been working hard at becoming more purposefully transparent.

Meaning if someone asks me how my day is, I answer truthfully, not with the generic “Okay” we can tend to automatically reply with when we don’t want to let people know how we are really doing…whether we are afraid to share it, or fearful of either their indifference or judgment.

This weekend, I sensed I was to get a long term chronic pain in my left hip looked at. Not knowing exactly what direction that meant, I decided to just listen for a few days for clarification.

Sunday morning, our first speaker shared a story about you guessed it, a problem with his hip stemming from a foot injury (mine was a knee injury). After the sermon, I was more convince than ever I needed to get my hip looked at (the speaker ended up needing surgery, after imaging revealed some serious damage to his hip).

My fear factor took over big time. I assumed the timing of this talk meant I might need an MRI or possibly surgery, at the best case it was a flare of early osteoarthritis, which has shown up in my hands & feet over the past year. Forget the fact that I have had four car accidents and two knee surgeries, i just mentally jumped the gun to my worst case scenario.

I briefly mentioned this to one of my bosses on Monday, who happens to be an excellent sport physiotherapist, and asked if he thought a thorough assessment would be a good idea, or go right for imaging. (A physiotherapist can write a letter of recommendation for imaging to a doctor based on their findings.) He thought both worth considering, as this issue has been bothering me off and on for years, and could be an indication of something serious.

Today, an unexpected cancelation and a incidental delay in a meeting allowed me to fit in a very thorough and a bit uncomfortable assessment. I was very honest about my related history, and the physio was equally honest with her questions during the exam.

The findings?

One of my legs is a centimeter shorter than the other, which (in my understanding) is causing my muscles from my hip to tilt my pelvis slightly forward to compensate, painfully tightening my back and hip muscles in the process. What I experienced as my back giving out was my body’s cry of exhaustion and help.

A lift in my left shoe, a few rounds of an uncomfortable stretch, some support taping and instructions not to put my feet up at the end of the day nor to stay seated too long have combined to drop my pain level about 50%.

I am dumbfounded at how God stirred me to speak about what I was fearful of to the right person, and how His timing reworked my schedule to make this happen.

If I hadn’t spoken out my concern and need, I wouldn’t have found the answer He meant for me to find. He cracked through my fear to highlight the root of what was really going on. And I am left grateful and hopeful for a less pain filled future!

So I shared this with my family, my life group tonight, and now with you.

Because its okay to answer we aren’t okay, if that is how you truly are.

God invited those who are weary and heavy burdened to come to Him for rest.

Not those who have it all together.
Rather, those of us who know our need, are willing to admit it, and willingly come to Him.

I know my cracks and how much I need to be fixed.

Despite it all, I realize if i weren’t cracked, you couldn’t see Him shine through my weakness.

Because some days, its only His strength that is keeping me going.

And that is okay.

May you see Him clearly through the cracks in your life, as He has been shining through mine.

We don’t need to be perfect to hold His glory, just willing to be filled.

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