By: Jackie Warner
Women are known for their strength, resilience, and ability to keep going. We move from one responsibility to the next, filling our calendars with commitments, obligations, and the needs of others. But in the midst of all that motion, something sacred can quietly slip away — ourselves.
A devotional I recently heard named a truth many of us live: sometimes we stay busy so we don’t have to face what is right in front of us or within us. That truth struck me deeply. I realized that I often keep myself occupied to avoid sitting with my own thoughts, my own needs, and the quiet realities of my own life. The cluttered closet, the kitchen needing attention, the emotions I haven’t sorted — they all wait for me while I rush to the next event, the next task, the next commitment.
Then a song shifted everything. Its message was simple but piercing: don’t run so fast that you leave yourself behind. It was an invitation to turn around and go back to get the version of myself I abandoned while trying to be everything for everyone else – Neveah Soul “I Needed Me”
Scripture echoes this call. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Stillness is not inactivity; it is obedience. It is the place where God reveals what constant motion hides. The psalmist reminds his own soul, “Return to your rest, O my soul” (Psalm 116:7), and Jesus extends an invitation to every weary woman: “Come to me… and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Returning to ourselves means returning to Him.
It means acknowledging that our hearts need tending. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). If our hearts are neglected, everything else becomes heavier. Guarding our hearts requires slowing down long enough to see what is happening inside them.
Going back to get ourselves may look like sitting in silence for a few minutes each day, tackling one small area of clutter without pressure, allowing ourselves to feel instead of rushing past emotions, or choosing rest even when our calendars say otherwise. It may mean decluttering not only our homes, but our minds and spirits. It may mean giving ourselves permission to breathe.
Returning to ourselves is not selfish; it means choosing rest without guilt, acknowledging what needs attention, and allowing God to meet us in the quiet rather than only in the busy.
This is your moment to pause. This is your moment to breathe. This is your moment to go back and get you.
By: Jackie Warner
Career Development Facilitator
“Impact, Engage, Grow” Community Matters
