I keep hearing the voice in my mind telling me I have to lose the weight. I tell it to shush, but it’s gnaws at me. I ignore it, only until I look in the mirror, and then it shouts at me, “See! I told you!”
I feel such pressure to be excelling in my career. To bring in a good income. To be moving up in the world and looking for the next thing. Honestly, this pressure can take away the joy I typically find in what I do.
And then there’s my kiddos. The ones who I love more than anything and just want to give them a good life. Every single day I hear whispers in my mind reminding me that I’m not a good enough mom. The mom-guilt says I don’t play enough with them, I don’t try hard enough, I’m always giving them what’s left over.
But even when I do what should be “enough” I still hear these voices.
I feel stagnant in my faith at times. I know I need to set aside more time each day to be with God. I know that’s what matters most. But there is a million things to do. Yet, I feel like it’s simply a matter of me not managing my time well.
Sometimes I feel like I am failing God, others and myself.
It’s exhausting because this guilt doesn’t actually help me in anyway. It usually leaves me wanting to just give up and go to bed.
Do you feel this, too?
Do you feel tired of trying to be everything yet feeling like you’re falling short in everything?
Even as I type this, I feel God’s gentle whispers on my heart:
“Come to me, all who are labor and are heavy laden”
Yeah, but God, I have to get things done. I can’t just drop my responsibilities. And it would feel really good if I was able to accomplish these things.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Rest.. that sounds nice. But how?
“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Gosh, how I forget that you don’t call us to carry the weight of everything on our own. We can take this heaviness and hand it over to you. You know our weakness, you know our limits.. and you fill in those gaps.
You also don’t call us to perfection. We won’t be perfect in any role we have. We won’t get everything done. We will slip, stumble and sometimes fall behind.
But your burden is still light.
We have to give up the idea that we can do everything on our own.
We have to remember that you designed us to need you. There is no shame in that.
So thank you, Jesus, for being our resting place when we feel overwhelmed.
Your message is so different than what the world tells us we need to be. You remind us what is actually important.
Help our weary souls surrender what’s weighing us down.
Because it’s in that surrender that we get to experience your rest.
Friends, it’s so exhausting trying to be everything…
The good news is that we don’t have to be.
~Kelli Bachara, The Unraveling Blog
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