For The Woman Who Feels Overwhelmed

Guest Blog by Marisa Donnelly.

To find out more about this Brave Strong Girl Mentor, simply visit her mentor profile right here!

This is for the woman who is tired and overworked, for the woman who can barely lift her head. This is for the woman who may need a few cups of coffee to get through the day, or has simply been exhausted this season and unable to find her footing again. 

I want you to know that I see you, I hear you—you are not alone.

I wish I could tell you that things will get easier, but the truth about life is that there are always ups and downs. Yes, the short answer is that things will get easier. But they will also get harder from time to time. They will also be frustrating. And you will undoubtedly question your purpose, the lesson, and whether God is even listening at all. (He is.)

It’s been a hard season, a hard year. There have been unexpected turns and curveballs, opportunities that have been missed and chances you thought you would take but couldn’t. Maybe you lost a loved one. Maybe loved walked out on you. Maybe you believed in something better, only to be disappointed by the outcome. I know how that feels.

I wish I had the right words, the proverbial magic wand, or the prayer that would take it all away. But life doesn’t work like that. Life is dead ends and turn-arounds, broken stoplights, open highways, and stop signs when you least expect them. 

Life is learning how to navigate all of the roadblocks only to realize God’s been in the driver’s seat all along. 

I know you feel overwhelmed right now, maybe even a little out of control. I know you’re just trying to keep afloat, plastering a smile on your face because you think you should. It’s hard, trying to keep appearances when you just want to curl up under a blanket. I see you, I know. 

But the truth is—even amidst all of this pain—there is hope. And not the kind of hope that slips through your fingers like sand, but the hope that stays. The hope that sticks. 

There won’t be a perfectly-paved road or an interstate without traffic. There won’t be green lights all along the path. But there will be moments of joy that you can cling to, laughter that sits in your belly, smiles that unconsciously lift the corners of your mouth, good books you will read, grass between your toes, and loved ones whose touches on your skin make you feel alive. 

There will be infinite little moments that remind you of the beauty of God’s creation—this life and you. 

So please, hold on just a little longer. Take a deep breath, then another, then another. Call up a loved one. Cry in your pillow. Read the Bible. Take a long walk. Try to reset yourself and when you can’t, pray until the pain subsides.

Because even though you’re overwhelmed, you won’t feel this way forever.

You may feel tired and weak right now, but our God carries us through the darkest storms. And He is with you right now. (I promise.)

When Your Back is Up Against the Wall

Moses answered the people, do not be afraid.  Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.  The Egyptians you see today - you will never see again.  God will fight the battle for you.  And you?  You keep your mouths shut. Exodus 14:13-14a (MES)

I recently the honor of serving on a prophetic ministry team. For several days, I sought God for a word of encouragement for specific individuals.  My process of preparing looks something like this:

• get still (Gather every single thing I might possibly want or need for the next hour - coffee, blanket, bible, journal, pen, glasses, computer...you get the idea.)

• pray (Talk to God about how desperate I am to hear what He has to say.)

• listen (Try to stop talking and wait to see if something comes to mind.)

• pray again (Talk, talk, talk - tell God what will happen if He doesn't speak.)

• listen, listen, listen (Make a decision to cut it out, be quiet, put the pressure on God to speak and on me to be still.)

• journal (Write down any and everything I hear, see or sense.)

• repeat

It isn't a very smooth process for me.  It's a bit fraught with my own anxiety and need to "do well".  Once I begin to calm myself, put the expectation on God rather than on me, it's like a slip stream.  I step into a flow I can't explain and I become aware of impressions, words, scriptures, and images that "speak to me" of God's heart.

On Tuesday morning as I finalized my preparations , I felt God had a personal word for me.  I turned the page in my journal and started writing.  Here's what God said:

"The restoration has begun.  The rebuilding is underway.

The pain lessons.

The meds decrease.

The rest is sweeter.

The hair reappears.

The nails transform.

I am faithful, Jan.  I don't just heal or rescue.  I restore."

Restore: 

to bring back, reinstate, reestablish, repair, renovate, fix, rehabilitate, reconstruct, redevelop, overhaul, resurrection, regeneration, the end of one thing, the beginning of another, born again, new beginning

I also remembered the verse from Exodus quoted at the opening of this blog.  The Israelites were standing with their back at the Red Sea and their faces toward an overwhelming enemy.  There was no escape for them.  They could find no battle plan of their own.  They began to panic, complain and believe that they should have stayed in bondage.  They said it was better to be bound than to be dead.

I love how Moses responded.

He didn't try to break them up into units for battle.  He didn't lie to them.  He didn't try to figure it out on his own.  He didn't succumb to their own conclusion.  Rather, he boldly declared that God alone would be enough to deliver them.

"God will fight for you."

Especially if they would shut their mouths.

It's true for you, too.  If your back is up against the wall, close your mouth and stop agreeing with the enemy.  No matter how hopeless your situation appears; no matter how large the army that is advancing against you; no matter how much you second guess the steps that led you to this place...

God will fight for you.

God has indeed fought for me.  While I stand still (resolute) and wait (quite), He is delivering me, fighting for me.

When the red sea parts, we escape and our enemies are crushed.

Then it is the time to speak.