Tag: road

on the road to Bethlehem

Karla Lees

We left off with Joseph & Mary on the long trek to Bethlehem.

Still on the road…

I wonder if Mary asked,  “Are we there yet?!” as her womb started sending signals it was full and had had enough.

I wonder how sick of leading the donkey and being on his feet all day Joseph was?

How the outdoors only reminded them both of how much they wanted to be back home already, resting indoors. Census over and done.

Instead, the road continued to stretch out in front of them, still needing to be traveled.

Can you relate?

I often grow tired of my daily walk.  I fail to see the purpose in endlessly folding laundry, constantly washing dishes, ceaselessly cleaning the house, just to do it all over again.
The familiar, the routine, the repetition. Dreary with doing the same jobs, traveling the same roads over and over…

Not all that different than finding ourselves on the road to Bethlehem again.

Except this year, I am determined to not take the Advent story for granted.

Having been raised with it, it can seem like a pointless journey to take again each December, save for this fact:

The arrival of Jesus changed everything.  God reached down, touched an average woman and folded Jesus into her womb, to slowly grow until He was to emerge and meet His creation face to face, God with us.

In the familiar, the routine, the repetition, we find we are no longer alone.  We have been met in our humanity, in the dreary drudgery of our daily to do list. By the God who wants us to be known, embrace us in our hurts, bind our brokenness, restore our energy, guide our steps, helping us move beyond the words and enter the story.

You see, God knew the road we were traveling was a dead end without His intervention.

The road to Bethlehem was always part of God’s plan. 

For Jesus was meant to be born in David’s city, fulfilling the promise God gave David so many generations before- the Deliverer was coming.

But first, He needs to be delivered into the world.

Picture weary Mary, struggling to get comfortable in her last weeks of her pregnancy…whether on the donkey, or lying down.

See Joseph limping from the rough terrain, shoulders sore from guiding the occasionally stubborn donkey, stomach rumbling from the excursion.

The road to Bethlehem was a labour of love. 

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Not only through Joseph and Mary’s obedience, nor Jesus’ impending delivery…

God labored to bring Advent about: the dream, the decision, the preparation, the effort & the teamwork within the Trinity- all designed to collide with humanity at the end of the road to Bethlehem.

God had every right to be weary of us. Selfish sinful flesh. Wanting our own way. Discontent until we could connect with our Creator, helpless to make the changes we needed in ourselves to make it happen.

So God decided to make it happen for us. To make the way for us.

The #AdventuresinAdvent are only part of the way to the big finale. 

I can only hope that like me, God is stirring up the desire to see His story, His gift to us all, in a fresh light. To be struck with the wonder awaiting us at the end of the road ahead.

long

Karla Lees

it’s hasn’t been long
since I saw You last
yet somehow
it feels
like forever

The road seems to
stretch
despite my
every step
as I wearily
attempt
to make it
back to You

The sunrise
clouded over,
no stars
nor sunset
to be seen
in the evening sky

yet a glimmer of hope
continues to spark,
this ember in my heart
which refuses to be
quenched

without words
deep calls to deep
as i long
for the One I love
longing to
see
sense
hear
touch
be with You

a smile
a loving word
a kindness shown
a welcoming purr
a thank you
a giggle
a hug
You

echoes of Your Presence
swirl all around me
drawing me
closer
to You
with each
skin on God
demonstration
of Your love

fresh wind
blows again
across my soul
peace deepens
& settles back in
as hope re-anchors
itself on You
the one I long for

You lighten
my load
every time I
leave it
in Your capable hands
which only
begs the question,
“Why
did I drag this
for so long?”

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Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion.

Isaiah 30:18a NIV

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when the road seems long

Karla Lees

Some of you wandered for years in the desert, looking but not finding a good place to live. Half-starved and parched with thirst, staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.

Psalm 107:4-5

Some of us wake up feeling this way, don’t we?

On the brink of sheer exhaustion, running on empty, in desperate need of spiritual feeding, parched beyond our imagination.

At rock bottom
emotionally
physically
mentally
spiritually

We can be so obsessed with our need, we forget to look to the Source of all our aid. So we wallow in our need, unknowingly making the situation even worse with our independent thinking and short sightedness.

Some of us need to hit rock bottom before we will be able to look up.

When we look up, and ask for His help? Cry out with all that is within us?

Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God. He got you out in the nick of time; He put your feet on a wonderful road that took you straight to a good place to live.

Psalm 107:6-7

He rescues us. Plants our feet on solid rock, and helps us as we journey towards our eternal Hope at the end of the road before us.

But God doesn’t stop here, He offers even more:

So thank God for His marvelous love, for His miracle mercy to the children He loves. He poured great draughts of water down parched throats; the starved and hungry got plenty to eat.

Psalm 107:8-9

Feel like the weight on your shoulders is too much?

You can’t go one more step the way you have before?

You are ready for God to move mightily on your behalf, if you will turn to Him and but ask.

Your Hope is always waiting.

On the days when the road seems long, don’t give up.

Look up.
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life is choice

Karla Lees

If love is an open door,
life must be an open road.

Both involve choices.

The path you end up taking depends on your choice, and no one else’s.

When you make a bad choice, you veer off the path you were meant to take, and enter a door you were meant to leave shut.

Both have consequences.

Being in the wrong place at the right time can leave you scarred, hurt, in pain, alone, pregnant, hungover or find you waking up somewhere you never expected.

Aligning yourself with the negative can drain the positive until before you know it, you are running on empty.

But you have never gone too far down the path for God to bring you back.

You can leave that room and close that door once and for all.

I am living proof.

When I have hit my lowest, God has been there to remind me just how loving & powerful He is, and how much bigger He is than the situation I am facing.

Not being in the drivers seat is a blessing in disguise when the Driver has perfect up close & long term vision.

Spending time with Him at the wheel helps us to safely navigate what might otherwise cause us to swerve and crash.

Taking the time to wait and pause before making major decisions is also one of the best ways of opening the right door. So is heeding when you are told not to go through a door.

If God has plans for us to prosper, bless and flavour us, why do we tend to rush on in without waiting?

I think most of us are afraid life will pass us by, and we will miss out.
We will miss that one thing we are meant to do, and as a result, miss our purpose for being here.

If you are spending time in His presence, listening for and to His voice, and living life in His Kingdom, you will not miss out.

He promises we will inherit. Those who press in for Him will find Him. He gives wisdom to all who ask.

Life can be a highway to those of us going too fast, moving at our own speed.

I think life is more like a back road passing through a community, connecting us with purpose, help and family.

But most importantly, love is an open door.

The single most important decision you can make in your life is opening the door of your heart to allow God in.

The choice is up to you.

How your life will unfurl depends on it.
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