Hello friend,
Have you ever had someone give you a really generous gift and your immediate thought was: "Now I need to get them something. And it has to be just as good or better."
You think this, not because they expect something in return, but because receiving something so thoughtful and valuable without earning it feels uncomfortable. You didn't deserve it. You didn't earn it. Surely you can't just accept that?
I think we do this with God sometimes...
He gives us grace. We respond with striving. He gives us salvation. We respond with performance. He gives us rest. We respond by trying to prove we're worthy of it. And if I'm honest, I've been thinking about this a lot lately.
The more I've studied scripture over the last few months, the more I've realized that slowing down is rarely a time management problem. It's often an identity problem.
This week's episode goes a layer deeper into that idea.
Ep 33 | Why Slowing Down Feels So Hard as a Mom (When Your Worth Feels Tied to Productivity)
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Inside this episode, I talk about:
- Why slowing down can feel uncomfortable even when nothing is urgent
- The connection between productivity and identity
- Why we sometimes struggle to receive God's grace without trying to repay it
- What Scripture says about rest, striving, and worth
- How to begin untangling your value from your output
One of the ideas that hit me hardest while preparing this episode was this: You can't out-give God. You can't out-work Him. You can't out-sacrifice Him. You can't earn something He already chose to give freely.
Yet sometimes we live as if we're trying. As if we can somehow prove ourselves worthy enough. Productive enough. Disciplined enough. Faithful enough.
The reality is that our identity was settled long before we cleaned the house, finished the project, answered the email, or crossed off the to-do list. Titus tells us we're saved because of His mercy. Romans tells us there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Colossians tells us our lives are hidden with Christ in God.
In other words: Our worth isn't something we build. It's something we receive. That's why rest isn't just a nice suggestion in scripture. It's both a gift and a command. Because God knows something we often forget: We are human beings. Not human doings. (Yes, I'm still thinking about that phrase from last week's email.)
So I'd love to ask you something:
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I have a suspicion that many of us are much better at giving grace to other people than we are at accepting it ourselves.
Cheering you on,
P.S. One thing I'm working on right now is creating more opportunities for us to learn from each other, not just from me. If you've been enjoying these conversations around calm discipline, slowing down, rest, burnout, or biblical productivity, I'd love for you to share your thoughts through the Calm Discipline Collective. Sometimes hearing how another mom is wrestling through the same thing is exactly what we need.
