Tag: weary

when counting sheep doesn’t help you get the sleep you need

Karla Lees

Breathing in, breathing out.

In the quiet, I can hear my heart beat as my body is overcome with its need for rest as I lay down. Another coughing fit takes over, and I find myself desperate for my next fresh burst of air.

God, how I need You to intervene.

I am now so weary that unless You show up, I have no passion left to offer. I am sinking more and more into the depths of just get it done.

I want to serve You willingly everywhere I am. But to do so, I desperately need You…

  • Your strength in these weary bones.
  • Your energy to flow through my veins.
  • Your love to spill over in my heart.
  • Your voice, Your presence to captivate my senses.
  • Your rest which You promise Your Beloved, me.

So I lay myself down into Your promises of rest again today.

Come to Me all who are weary and weighed down with burdens. I will give you #rest. (Matthew 11:28)

God gives His beloved #rest. (Psalm 127:2)

Break this heart to fully surrender to what You have for me, the best of rest, deep in my soul.

Just let go let His love wrap around you and hold you close. Get lost in the surrender, breathe it in until your heart breaks then exhale. Exhale. – Plumb

And if You touch my body to help it to get to sleep as You do, this sheep would be most appreciative!

needing-sleep

Presence

Karla Lees

The past few days, I have felt overwhelmed physically.

A few of my sore muscles are having a hard time giving up their tension, despite prayer and the efforts of my physio & massage therapist.

Sleeping on my left side is foreign to me, I have always been a back or right side sleeper, and with my right side sore, staying asleep HSS now become an issue.

I am generally not a big whiner, but a solution finder.

I am in a situation I cannot control. nor see a quick end too.

The trail ahead seemed very steep last night.

I could only pray, “Help” before falling asleep.

This morning, as I awoke and spent time in His Word & Presence, He has reminded me I am not in this alone.

He is with me.

He is strengthening me.

He is helping me.

I was only looking at my physical symptoms, but God was looking at my whole person.

My spirit is reaching out for Him more than ever before, because I don’t want to make it through without Him.

My solution, my Hope is found in Him alone.

I am actively bringing my thoughts into alignment with His Word & promises.

I am being honest about my feelings, but not letting them run my decisions.

But how I am physically weary of being sore.

And that is the area God reminds me I need to bring into alignment with His truth.

I can keep going when I depend on His strength.

He is more than enough for me, even as I struggle.

Its okay to be real before Him, and fully rely on Him for all I need.

Maybe one of you needed to hear this this morning too.

I hope He draws close to you, and reminds you of what you need to hear from Him directly as well.

Once again, it is well with my soul.

image

Because all things are possible, in, with and for our God!

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. 

image
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.

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.
image

dry & weary land

Karla Lees

image

There are places within that are parched, dry, weary.

Broken places I have buried for too long.

Hopes & dreams I wait for.

Wounds that have been partly healed, a crack still open to keep the infection brewing.

There is no 100% cure without God.
None.

You see, the layers within cannot be reached to our very depths by anything we can do or try.

Simply put, we don’t have the right tools without God’s leading us through the layers.

Only He can peel back our defenses to let the truth come to light.

Once the negative roots get exposed, they are uprooted to stop their poisonous growth.

The positive roots are properly planted to burrow deep as originally intended without any more lies choking the life out of them, or the excess layers of soil become so soaked the water can finally spur the roots on to grow.

Dry and weary can mean we need to lay our stuff down, and ask God to release His living water to soak us through and through.

It’s waiting, taking a breather from what’s going on around you, or within your swirling emotions, for God to meet you.

It is stopping the doing, to being in His presence, that leads us to that water.

If you are parched, come to the One who can satisfy you within.

Hope will blossom again, as you rest in His love. The refreshment of knowing you are deeply cared for.

It’s time to get thirsty again.

God is waiting to do all the work, He just needs you to come.

fighting the bluez

Karla Lees

Today was a mental fight day.
I couldn’t take too long off, or I knew I would lose the battle.

I find that when I am in recovery, that period between fully sick and fully well, I am not at strong mentally with my defenses. Certainly, extra napping and strong medications may be part of the factors impacting my state of mind. But there seems to be something else.

Without sun, without warmth, without a kind touch, I begin to feel blue and wither a little within, shriveling up on myself to try and hide away.

Today the bluez struck big time.

image

(image from: http://www.suffolknewsherald.com/2012/01/14/fighting-the-winter-blues/)

I was okay on the bus while cranking my tunes (for me worship tunes are battle music). I ate breakfast, drank my yummy chai rooibos tea while mostly hot. I whipped off the bulk of my to do list before noon.

I took my next medication, and things took a turn for the dumpster.

I felt awful. Too hot, ready to find a dark corner and sleep it off. But…I was at work.

Realizing I could go home early made me feel even worse. And that doing so would be conceding defeat.

I ate my lunch, purged some files, did some techy posty stuff, chatted with some coworkers about a coming project, all the while silently praying that the bluez would subside.

They did.

Until I got home.

When i caught sight of my trashed main floor, 40 minutes before company was due to arrive, I almost gave in.

I pushed up my sleeves, tapped in a strong assistant, and 35 minutes later it was done.

I decided to take a quick recharge my batteries break with two of my fave recent Darlene Zschech songs with my last five minutes before my friends arrived, while the kettle was on.

By the time the first arrived, I was feeling almost like myself again. A little more tired version, but chipper and glad to see my friends. The chatter and resulting laughter helped banish my bluezy feelings.

What do you do when the bluez try to overtake you?

Do you give in?
Do you fight back?
Do you pull out your secret weapon? In my case, praise and prayer?

I am a hardwired communicator, so I find music, books, and movies invigorating and great assets in helping me cope with hope when the world seems dreary and blah.

One of my friends is a garden whiz. She loves to plan, plant, and dream about her gardening.

Another finds fitness helps her stay centered and well.

My husband finds a walk outdoors with a friend, chatting along the way helps him to fight his battles against the bluez.

http://www.austinpug.org/the-minimalists-guide-to-fighting-the-blues/ is a good basic list of healthy ways to face the bluez.

No matter what you choose, know that the bluez do not last forever.
The despair and doubt of the day after Good Friday does not last beyond Easter Sunday.
Good news IS coming.
Spring WILL arrive.
Winter WILL be over.
The sun will shine again.

The rain, although not much to look at, serves a purpose. To soak the ground, to help it produce a good harvest.

May the bluez we all fight soak us enough to appreciate the sunny times ahead, but never enough to turn into despair.