grow – KARLA LEES

live life in community

July 17, 2017June 24, 2021 Karla Lees

For many years, I have felt on the outside looking in… maybe you too can relate.

There have been seasons where I was missing having close sisters. That feeling where you long for family beyond the blessings you already have, Where my heart felt lonely despite a loving hubby, great kids, friends & family.

Heart sisters.

And I remember one day praying to Him, and ripping this longing from my heart & offering it to Him.

We were never meant to walk alone.

We are designed for community.

Community for me means walking along side those who share your passion & calling, who will give you a hand up on the hard days, and encourage you to unfurl the dreams yet to fly deep within.

We were meant to live life in community, just as our Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit do!

There are three elements of community which God has been revealing to me of late.

1. Come.

If you don’t show up, it isn’t community. Community gathers regardless of feelings, because it knows we are better together than on our own. Where we answer the invitation God offers to us all, to come and be. Be fully present, as you are.

2. Commune.

Also known as family. Living real lives together. Accepting us each as works in progress, on a journey towards wholeness:

Encouraging one another as we need it
Reminding one another to draw closer to Him and our loved ones
Giving our best at all times
Using our gifts for His glory
Praying over & for each other when needs arise
Being helping hands when we can meet another’s need
Crying together, sharing our brokenness
Offering one another a safe place to rest and be refreshed when we are weary

3. Unity.

When we gather with common purpose, somehow our unity makes us stronger, and greater than when we stand alone. I believe this is the secret to how God is which we gloss over in its complexity: God is three, yet one. Each fully their own person, yet united as One.

In community, we become the one He intended us to be.

Will community always be amazing? Nope. There will be hard times when our individuality rears its voice and cries out for attention, when we allow our unhealed places & pain to speak first.

Is community worth it? Always. There will be blessings you cannot yet imagine when we press in and dig deep together.

For me, community involves sisterhood. I have been so blessed with several heart sisters to live daily life with in the community I live in, here in Ontario. I don’t want to imagine life without them. They bless me more than they know.

But there was still an empty space left in my heart, a longing for more which was yet to come…which I believe we all have deep within.

God led our family to a new home church, and once we worked through our grief of missing where we had been, we found ourselves enveloped in the community He planned for us. Our family, as both a unit & individually, is the stronger & healthier because of it. Our church is intentional about loving God and loving people, and becoming family. Family is always welcome, warts and all.

He led me to Remade, and Beth Kinder. Beth & I connected, and before I knew it, I had the close sisters my heart had been longing for through their online community. Crossing country borders, denomination, age, race & status. Ministering, laughing, crying, writing, equipping, challenging, living life together despite the mileage that separates us. And that last longing was put to rest when I was welcomed in, and asked to join this community. Although Remade has morphed into a new season, I am still heart connected with the lovely sisters I met through that time of ministering together.

As I have followed His leading, He has blessed me with new friendships, and reawakened a few dreams through growing deeper in the communities He is planting me in.

Covid led to me putting a few former learned skill back into action, as I began to lead an online women’s Facebook group, helping sisters stay & feel connected despite lockdowns, through worship, bible study, prayer and sharing both the laughter & tears as we get to know each other.

God can unite us beyond our expectations when we follow His lead.

Community is His idea, the expression of how He lives life together as three in one.

Come, commune with Him & become one. This is the core of community, connected & grounded to God first.

Ask Him to draw you closer to the community He has for you here on earth.

Your best ‘you’ comes to life in the community where He waits to make it possible.

If you are intrigued by the concept of an online community, ask God to lead you to the One He has for you. Feel free to visit my connect page for ways to connect with my online community, for there is always room for one more!

If you too live in Canada, and long to meet with other Christians in the larger church community, Gather Women is crossing Canada and meeting provincially.

If you too have been lonely for the deeper authenticity and support of community, don’t allow your lack to drive you. Invite Holy Spirit to open your eyes to where He wants you to gather, connect and live in community.

are your roots showing?

August 7, 2015August 7, 2015 Karla Lees

I recently has to get my hair done.
Because I have very curly hair, i can’t always tell when my roots begin to show, until they are pretty bad. Like over an inch or two.

Because I am transitioning back to my natural dark ash blonde, (which is actually a lighter brown but the boxes & color wheels say is dark ash blonde, so I guess technically I am still a blonde!) now that I had a lot of roots showing, I needed a new game plan. Where am I headed now? More highlights & lowlights to keep transitioning with each cut, or dye my whole head to match the roots, then add a few highlights for fun.

I went with option b. Because I am not ashamed of my roots. I like the color, and want to work with the body I’ve got.

How long are your roots?

Are they subtle and barely noticeable, or obvious to everyone who sees you?

Are they hidden because of how you carry yourself?

The roots to which I am now referring?

Your rootedness in God.

Do you spend more quality time with Him than anyone else you are in relationship with?

Can other people tell you are depending on Him in your day to day life?

Can you remain standing when the storm hits?

God is unshakeably dependable, our Rock of Ages. Nothing shocks Him, ever. Nothing can move Him out of His position as Lord over all.

There is living water & wisdom to feed the souls of those who dig deep and draw close to Him.

And the closer you get, the deeper you become His, and the more He steadies you.

So unlike your hair, these roots are the ones we want to be visible in our lives.

We want Him to look at us and see we are standing on His Word, trusting in His ways, and seeking Him in every moment.

We want roots so deep we are constantly strengthened by Him, grounded in His Promises, & in His Presence.

May we look beyond the superficial, find the courage to let our root grow, and not be afraid to let them show.

stumped

July 13, 2014July 14, 2014 Karla Lees

When you hit a wall, where do you go?

When that question doesn’t get the answer you hoped for, or any answer for that matter, what do you do?

When you can’t see the next step before you, how do you go on?

Life may stump you.

In all likelihood, it already has, and it will likely do so again, and again, and probably again.

I no longer see bring stumped from a depressing view point.

You see, as long as that stump has roots, it has possibility.

It partly depends on the type of tree, and the ground it is rooted in.

A tree that has already weathered hard storms, drought and disease will keep determinedly trying to grow.

A tree with shallow roots, who never learned to grow deep in difficult seasons, won’t make it.

Which are you?

Are you rooted in God, whose depth is never ending? Who provides for all who have been added to His family tree? Who will never leave you, no matter what weather is up ahead? Who quenches your thirst? Sends the refreshing rains to soak you?

Are you rooted in the world, who is flighty, ever changing and undependable? Who decides one day to live one way, and the exact opposite the next? Where the standard is what feels good, vs what IS good?

Are you rooted in yourself? Locked up within so you can’t put down healthy roots? Feeding your roots with the poison you absorbed in the past? Creating more toxins inside the longer you stay on your own?

Are you ready for health yet?

A tree may be stumped, in part because it needed to be cut down (used for a purpose), pruned (to remove dead growth, diseased sections) or in the way (inconvenience).

There is nothing that can stump the one who designed and made you.

He knows the path you are on, the safe way to navigate it, and promises to Himself walk along side you as you journey together.

There is no stump too far gone for God not to bring it back to life.

If you are broken, He can fix you.

It may not look like how the world considers being fixed, but it has eternal value.

If you are confused, He will guide you.

He knows the design He made you for. How you will best grow fruit, find peace and joy as you walk with Him.

If you are in pain, He will comfort you.
His arms are always open and available.

If you are bound, He will set you free.
The past nor your enemies cannot keep an eternal God, beyond our time limitations, from opening the cage and letting you out. The one God sets free IS free, whether you feel it or not.

Its time to set down roots in the One who can best care for you, the Gardener of your soul.

Plant yourself in Him.

Don’t allow bring stumped to keep you from your purpose.

You were meant to grow.

rain down

May 6, 2014May 6, 2014 Karla Lees

After the winter we just had, even rain looks good to me as I eagerly await spring.

Rain is an integral part of spring,

Without it, there would be no life, just barren desert.

This past harsh icy winter has left the trees asleep, the ground extra hard, and abounding dreariness. A need for escape, light, sunshine, warmth and a new view.

Winter can occur in the soul as well.

A deep freeze, hardening our hearts, locking us into believing hope is nowhere nearby.

But spring too can happen for the soul, in the hearts of those who seek it.

It just takes rain.

A living water than soaks in deep, getting in to every nook and cranny of your being.

Watering the seeds planted, waiting for such a time as this.

A water that restores, causes life to bloom, forgiveness to flow, new life to blossom.

A cleansing away of winter until there is no trace left, and all you can sense is the spring now flowing out of you.

Without winter, the soul would not appreciate spring.

Without rain, spring could never come.

“He comes as rain comes,
as spring rain refreshing the ground. ”
Hosea 6:3 (Message)

If you are stuck in the winter running rampant within, know that God wants to shower you with His presence, soak you in His love, and set spring and life free within you.

Its time to stand up, ask for God’s rain to pour down on you; to find the refreshing you have been longing for in His downpour.

For He will come.
His word is His promise.
Spring is coming.