Resting In The Middle Of An Unfinished Life

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

A reminder that you don’t have to have everything figured out, fixed, or finished before you’re allowed to rest.

Somewhere inside you there may be a tired little voice whispering: “I crave a moment where nothing needs my attention.”

That tired little voice isn’t saying, “I hate my life,” or “I want to give up.” 

It might just be saying: “I’m bone tired and need to rest.”

What would happen if you honored that tired little voice and gave it the rest it needed?

You might carve out a few minutes of time just for you, take a walk outside between work meetings (or temper tantrums) or just walk up to someone (safe) and tell them that you aren’t ok. 

However you decide to honor that small voice is up to you. But let’s imagine you walked up to a friend and shared your worries… and instead of sharing a list of solutions, they validated your feelings and offered a hug.

What a gift!

I had this happen recently. I went to a safe person and shared that I’m not ok. I didn’t spill all the juicy details. I just shared that I’m beyond my capacity. Life has hit the threshold of overflow. I’m feeling like I’m in the danger zone. And not the Tom Cruise kind! lol

I didn’t pretend my life is perfect, because it isn’t. I also didn’t minimize my pain by thinking other people have it so much worse than me, who am I to complain? I just showed up and acknowledged that life is hard, and told someone a little bit of my truth. And I admitted that even in the hard, I still see so much good. God is at work around me!

That’s a pretty wonderful place to be.

Because things can be good, even when they’re hard. It doesn’t have to be either or. And honestly, it rarely ever is!

You can be weary and grateful.

You can be scared and still see beauty.

You can be overwhelmed and still have hope.

You can cry because you’re exhausted and then laugh about something an hour later.

You can need prayer without explaining the whole story.

And most importantly:

Being grateful for the good doesn’t require you to minimize how bad the hard is or has been.

You’re probably carrying something heavy in your life journey. So I just want to take a moment and remind you that you’re not carrying your hard things alone. 

I won’t offer solutions. I also won’t tell you to make another checklist or tell you it’s all going to be ok. Because maybe it’s not. I honestly don’t know.

But I will give you a hug from afar and say:

It’s ok to put the hard thing down and rest for a while.

That doesn’t mean you’re weak.

It doesn’t mean you’re failing adulthood.

It doesn’t mean you’re bad at being a homeowner, a wife, a sister, a friend, or whatever role or responsibility feels like it’s wearing you down.

It doesn’t mean you aren’t trusting God enough.

It’s ok if you don’t have everything figured out. Life is imperfect. Projects can wait. Questions can remain unanswered. Hard conversations can be put on hold.

You don’t have to earn the right to rest by getting everything fixed first.

You can simply rest in the middle of your unfinished life.

Take gentle care of yourself today. ツ