Tag: past

Hello from the other side

Karla Lees

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Over the past calendar week, I have experienced more highs and lows than any other time I can recall.  Relationship tensions, tears and sudden bad news amidst a new freedom to be more the me God desires me to be.  All in one.

And not knowing how things are going to look when the blitz of the now hits with gale force power is an uncomfortable place to be, isn’t it?

Yesterday, God reminded me of a truth I had forgotten.  He is the God who was, who is and is to come.

God has always been with us even though we may not have noticed Him or know Him yet.

God is always with us, in the breath we are taking right now.

These two are not the mind blowing news I needed to hear, because I know those to be true, for they have been my constant companions since officially becoming His Beloved.

The Adele song which is all the rage right now has a line that aligned itself into perfect sync this morning  – and the flash of understanding which has followed can only be Holy Spirit highlighting His truth within me.

The future is not yet here. It’s up ahead, but just outside of our reach.  We can’t tangibly see or touch it but we all know that we know time continues to pass.

What I had forgotten was on that other side of now, God is already there…as I heard Him sing to me, “Hello from the other side!”

I can trust He will be there in the not yet future I can’t see.

I can rest in the knowledge He is already there when I get there.

He sees me as I arrive there and desires to guide me there. 

And because He already knows what is to come, He best knows how to help me get there.

God is all three, the God who was, the God who is, and the God was is to come.  All the time, beyond time!

If you need a particular glimpse of God who was, the Bible contains thousands of snapshots of how He has moved on His Beloved’ behalf, over and over.

We can hear His voice speak about how He is with us, right where we are at through His Word.

And the book of Revelation reminds us He is coming again, has a place just waiting for us, and the future is set. Good will win.

This God, who sees the other side of every situation we have ever been in, are currently facing or will ever encounter?

He is deserving  of our thanks, and more than worthy of our trust.

Regrets

Karla Lees

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Like all of us, I too have regrets in my past.

Not meeting Jesus earlier.
My behaviour in many situations.
My response to several circumstances.
The lack of love or compassion I failed to show many who crossed my path.
How I have been as a daughter, sister, niece, granddaughter, cousin. Wife, mother. Friend, coworker, band mate, employee.
My walk as a follower of Jesus.

Like the image above, many days my regrets follow me around.

What I realized this morning is like the elephant’s egrets, my regrets were meant to serve a purpose.
But not be my 24/7 companion.

When regrets take His place, we take our gaze off His face.

Regrets are a reminder to us to drop to our knees before Him, confess our failings, ask for His grace, then walk in His strength.

Not cause us to do a u-turn away from our present and future living.

God didn’t save us to leave us where He found us, full of regrets, wounds and sin.

He brings us up out of the kingdom of darkness and cleans us off with His holiness.

He clothes us in His identity as one of His household.

He infuses us with His love, like a long fragrant perfumed bath.

He envelops us with hope.

He empowers us with His strength.

And He Himself wants to walk with us, every moment of every day.

Notice the verb tense changed to present, even though I was referring to my past, when He met me, where He found me.

God’s redemption may have occurred once for our salvation, yet it is meant to occur daily for our freedom.

We are fragile beings who have a tendency to focus on what is going wrong instead of all which is going well with us.

God knew this as our Designer.

For God too faced regrets, as we can see in the Word.

He regretted making man at least once, leading to the flood. He regretted His children falling into sin and being lured away by placing their hopes in false gods. (Israel, over and over again)

Yet He never showed regret for giving us the gift of new life through Jesus.

Living a new life means having no permanent regrets following us around. Your regrets get to flock into your past when you place them in Jesus’ loving hands. They become part of your history, not features in your ongoing story.

Regrets turn into redirection as God helps us live the life He has waiting for us to live in Him.

Make a list of your regrets. Bring them before the Lord and ask Him to guide you out of your past into the life ahead of you today. Then toss that list into the fireplace, or run it through your shredder.

God makes all things new, even me and you!

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Don’t dig up in doubt what you planted in faith.

Trust the love of God to help you uproot those regrets, so you can bear the fruit and enjoy the life He wants for you in this moment.

The life you spend together.

leaf it alone- seasons of relationships part 1

Karla Lees

Fall always reminds me God has a season in mind for letting go.

Just as the leaves are meant to fall, so are the weights of worries, concerns, secrets and burdens we carry, to our own detriment. In some instances, it may be an unhealthy relationship or addictive behavior He may be calling you to leave behind.

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We only tend see the death of autumn as leaf after leaf start to fall…but without the leaves falling to the ground, the next season can’t arrive.

We need to let go so God can move us on.

Each leaf knows when its time to leave, when the winds of change are blowing strong.

Leaves are meant to fall, not hang around past their time.

God has designed us to not hang onto burdens for more than for a short season.

He is enough to help us leave our pasts behind us. To let go of the pain. To be healed of our wounds. (Psalm 55:22) To give you peace and rest. (Matthew 11:28)

No matter your past, God is present.

He wants to fill us with hope and give us a bright future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Leave the old behind, and let it make room for the new season He has in store for you.

We are called to have faith.
He not only gives us fresh hope,
He makes all things new. (Revelation 21:5)

We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.
~Rick Warren

God is the soft place for us to fall as we let go and leave ourselves in His hands. 🙂

its time to bloom

Karla Lees

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Photo by @khjlees

Its time to bloom.

There is only so much watering, feeding, sun & deepening we are meant to experience before we are to show the inner qualities meant to be shared with those around us.

Some are meant to help in practical ways: fire, police, armed forces, EMR staff. Doctors, nurses, dentists, physios, chiropractors. Childcare workers, teachers. Taxi, bus & train drivers.

Some are meant to help support in sometimes less obvious ways: pastors, counselors, volunteers, receptionists, baristas & wait staff. The friend who brings a meal when you have lost a loved one. The person who pays a bill for you when you lost your job. The drive to the appointment when you don’t have a car. The loved one who let’s you cry on their shoulder, not saying a word but comforting you with their presence. When you forgot your wallet or your bank card, and they say don’t worry about it, the coffee’s on me.

Those who create beauty to bless us: in word, created images, photography, music, dance, craftsmanship, gardening, landscaping.

Those who inspire us to dream big and aim high:
The athletes, the inspirational speakers, the people who come to the aid of their neighbors in emergencies, those who seemingly start out with less who remarkably  end up with more despite their lack.

Whatever your gift may be, the world needs you to know three things about it:

1. You were intended.
God designed you to have exactly what you will need to offer in the right time.

2. You are needed.
Your part added to the mix can never be duplicated by any one else.

3. Your contribution will, and does, matter.
Whether you feel its small or not, somehow as you offer it, God grows your part to become exactly what is needed.

The Son is calling you. Its time to be the you God designed, and bloom wherever you are planted.

voicemail

Karla Lees

When the past comes calling, let it go to voicemail. Believe me, it has nothing new to say.

-Unknown

It’s time to delete your voicemail.
Listening to old messages doesn’t leave room for any new messages to be recorded.

Sounds rather simplistic, but true.

When your head is full of “I am a loser”, ” I will never do it right”, “no one will ever love me”, and ” I can’t”, there isn’t room left for the truth. You need to clear out the lies.

A loss doesn’t make you a loser, if you learned the lesson the first time and don’t keep repeating it, or if it reveals you to be a caring, compassionate person.

If there is a skill you need to learn, then take the time to learn it versus lamenting over it. Trying in the process doesn’t mean you will never get it right. It means not yet!

There is always someone who cares for you out there. There has never been a person alive ever that someone one has not loved. That’s a lie leading you down the path of self destruction. You need to take care of yourself, and love yourself by doing so. God doesn’t ever and didn’t make junk when He made you. You are a one of a kind unique creation, designed with purpose. Soak in the knowledge that He loves you, until you start to believe it. Then begin to live it.

There may be some truth to you can’t, but maybe you aren’t supposed to. There are many things I wish I could do, but I am blessed to have friends and coworkers who can do what I can’t. We help each other in our weaknesses by being one another’s strength where we can. Just as where we are lacking, God can provide & strengthen us.

If you keep running those old tapes (negative messages, not meaning tapes from the 80s & 90s!) from the past long enough, they can start to sound like truth.

It’s time to hit the erase button and leave the past where it belongs- in the past. Spend some time listening to the One who knows you best, and live out who you were designed to be.

The best future you can have?

Learn the lessons from your past and leaves them there, as you fully live your present.

messy

Karla Lees

People are messy; therefore, relationships will be messy. Don’t be surprised by messiness.

-Tim Keller

Life is messy.

Not just your space when you share it with others, or don’t tidy up after yourself.

People all have their own way of thinking, and expectations of how things will/should/could be…
and that difference truly makes life messy.

The real messiness comes out in how we each express our mess:

Harsh words flung like stones

Unforgiveness bouncing genuine repentance back in your face

Slander sticking like mud balls

Gossip burning in your ears as whispers occur behind your back

Neglect causing love to wilt, lose its bloom

Denial destroying the possibility of something new

Selfishness messing up the inside as well as your surroundings

Life is a mess.

Quite frankly, we are all at times, as my Nana used to say, in need of a swift boot to the backside, as we are obviously a few cards short of a deck.

Because humanity continually messes everything up, as is pretty self evident from history, Jesus came to earth.

The mess got a personal message from God Himself:

There is another way.

By letting go of our inner mess, and all that word bundles together within each of us, God releases the Spirit to fill us with all we need to stay healthy, love one another well, and live a life with purpose.

Our mess becomes transformed into a message.

A beacon to those lost on their own messes, struggling to keep their heads above water, losing hope, just surviving each day.

Your past does not guarantee you a future down that path.

Your future is only set based on one decision.

Will you let the Message take you, mess that you are, and transform you into His messenger to a hurting, messed up world?

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blown it?

Karla Lees

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Ever have days where you feel like you have blown it so badly, there is no hope for you?

I can relate.

I have wished, like many of you, I could take back that dumb comment, kept my mouth shut,
stayed out of ‘it’,
handled ‘it’ differently,
or knew then what I know now.

But there is nothing I have done that makes me too far gone for God to reach out for me.
Restore me.
Love up on me.
Want me as His.

When we come and tell Him how much we need Him, knowing all the wrong we do and are capable of, and ask Him to help us become new…
He does.

His Spirit can blow into the slightest crack if you leave it open.

There are days, moments & memories where I wished at those times that I had not blown it.

The items I have purchased i didn’t need.

The friends I didn’t reach out to, letting those relationships fade into the background as work took the foreground.

The times of hanging out with God I missed out on as I was too busy to stop and smell the daffodils (I am allergic to roses!)

The words I missed speaking because i was too afraid to share them at the time.

The words I hurled as weapons, ready to hurt the receiver as much as they had hurt me with their words.

In each of the many situations where i have blown it, the Spirit was there, waiting for me to incline my ear to His direction, His whispers of wisdom, listening to His love for me.

Each day, each moment is a new chance to follow where and how the Spirit leads.

Don’t miss out because you can’t forgive yourself for the past.

Let the Spirit blow freshness, new insight and an overwhelming sense of love & peace into you, as you surrender the what was and move into the what can be.

Together with the Spirit, blow out the cobwebs and blow in His presence as He fills you.

better things ahead

Karla Lees

When your life is filled with potholes, valleys and pain, its hard to see the mountains.

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But God,
the eternal
forever
all powerful
Provider
Redeemer
Restorer
More than able
Healer
Lover of our souls
Maker of heaven & earth
Before all time
promises….
We have good things coming.
Good things are in store for us up ahead.

Just because we can see them, doesn’t mean they aren’t there in our future.

Like me, you may have experienced horrors you were almost crushed by.
You are still here.

You may have had your dignity and innocence stripped away against your will.
You are still here.

You may have felt loneliness to the point of despair, and almost lost yourself in the depths you found there.
You are still here.

If you believe in God,
know He is for you,
you need to believe His word will come to pass
and He is who He says He is.

For you are still here,
which is not an accident.

You are still here
because God made a way for you to make it through your past.

You have good things ahead in store for you.

Its time to let down your burdens,
step away from your past,
(which is your history but not you)
let God in,
and begin to hope,
dream,
soar again.

With God, there is no such thing as too far gone, or too big a situation for Him to enter into on your behalf.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

Jeremiah 29:11 MSG

looking back

Karla Lees

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There were two ways to look back.

One is healthy, the other an addiction.

One acknowledges your history, looking over your past as if you were flipping through a magazine, with a few key images, major highlights and the necessary details inside.
This way acknowledges where you came from, but you have been set free from the moments that harmed you, so although they are still in your history, they aren’t in the forefront of your mind. You might go for a brief visit, but you don’t stay.

Some look back like their lives are editions of the encyclopedia, going into every detail possible, used for referencing over and over and over again.

Or a DVD, where you can pause and live certain moments over and over and over again, as often as you can.

Some also records the sounds, smells, tastes and feelings in such a way that a recall can trigger a memory or cause a relapse to another time.

One way of looking back allows you to be free. To take that freedom and help others find their new future. To truly live, work, love as a God intended you to. Living in the present, hopeful for the future.

The other? Binds you in such a way that you feel like you are stuck in a puddle of quicksand, constantly afraid of going under, never able to get out on your own. You can’t move on.

When your past seems more real than your present, you are not free.

Its time to leave the garbage, hurts, broken dreams, wounds and everything else you don’t want to keep your eyes fixed on, and bring them to God.

The one who made us knows the way to our freedom.

Find a wise counselor, and press in to leave your past behind you, once and for all. This may happen quickly, or over time. You may need to go back to school to reconnect with who you really are, and are going to be once you have tasted the freedom God has for you.

I have been set free from the major hurts in my past. It was not easy in the beginning, but becoming whole is a journey. I am still seeing a counselor to learn healthier ways to express myself and take care of me. These lessons remain with me now that the pain of my past has been laid to rest, at the foot of the cross where they belong.

Pressing onwards, keeping my eyes on the hope of the future.

Take control of your past, before it overwhelms your present and steals your future.

Freedom is calling….

come back to life

Karla Lees

Let everything bad escape and take the pain with it so you can come back to life.

#TheMercifulScar

I have found that God is truly the only way to leave my past behind, in its icky pain hurt loss filled entirety.

It is one thing to share your hurt with another person, as there is great value in companionship, being heard and receiving love.

Its another thing to bring it to God, who already knew everything in its entirety because He was there at each pain filled moment, and knows how to release and free us from it.

Permanently.

Eternally.

The cool thing after God sets you free? You can go back to your history, recall it and remember it without the emotional baggage soundtrack pushing your buttons.
The fact it happened to you doesn’t change, but you are not stuck in the memory reels on constant rewind, stirring up all the pain hurt frustration anger as it used to every time you tried to revisit.

That is true freedom from a nasty memory.

If you are anything like me, you too may have a tractor trailer filled with pain, regrets, memories you allow to trail behind you, sapping your joy and strength in the now.

But you don’t need to take it with you anymore.

God is waiting to unhitch your baggage from you. He is the key to your freedom.

How do I know?

I have left abandonment, rejection, molestation, rape, self injury, verbal abuse, bullying, labelling, betrayal and intense grief behind me.

How?

God set me free.

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(Image from: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/files/wh6_uploads/images/1310-unlock-past-art.jpg)

Who Jesus sets free is truly free. (John 8:36)

As the Message version puts it, free through and through.

Your mind becomes free to think about current and future things.
Your body becomes free to release its physical stresses.
Your heart is free to love with abandon, no holding back.
You are able to forgive, freeing yourself from what you did and what was done to you.
You are made new.

There are many different tools God uses to set His beloved ones free.

Theophostic and Sozo are the two types of counseling that I have been led through where God led the pathway to freedom through listening, caring believers.

Don’t wait to be set free.

Start your new life today by taking a step away from your past towards God.

He is waiting to break the chains that are harming you and holding you back from all He has for you:

“I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out––plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else.”

Jer 29:11-13 (Message)