I took the month of August off to unplug, slow down, be more present, and deepen my focus on what matters most: God, family, and my health.

I didn’t realize when I started this month just how much the Lord would teach me through slowing down.

This is what He’s been teaching me:

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” — John 8:36

There are seasons in life when God isn’t necessarily asking us to do more.

Sometimes He’s asking us to surrender more.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately.

For years, I’ve been a doer.

Give me an idea and I’ll figure out how to make it happen. Give me a problem and I’ll find a solution. Give me something God has placed on my heart and I’ll build it, organize it, teach it, write it, or turn it into a program.

And honestly?

I love that part of me.

I love creating. I love helping people. I love seeing an idea come to life. I love encouraging women to move, nourish themselves, open God’s Word, and believe that wellness can be an act of worship.

But lately, God has been gently reminding me of something:

My worth was never dependent on what I produce.

That’s a hard truth for a recovering perfectionist and professional overthinker.

Because I can preach grace over perfection to someone else all day long.

I can tell another woman that she doesn’t have to earn God’s love.

I can remind her that progress matters more than perfection.

I can tell her to rest.

I can tell her to start again.

But sometimes I forget to believe those things about me.

Maybe you do too.

Maybe you’ve become so accustomed to being the strong one that you’ve forgotten what it feels like to be cared for.

Maybe you’re constantly thinking about the next thing you need to accomplish.

Maybe you’re trying to fix your body, your schedule, your marriage, your business, your parenting, your finances, your spiritual life—or all of it at once.

Maybe you’re exhausted from trying to become the woman you think you’re supposed to be.

And maybe Jesus is gently whispering:

“You don’t have to perform for Me.”

What if freedom isn’t found in finally getting everything right?

What if freedom is found in surrender?

Jesus says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Not if you become disciplined enough.

Not if you lose the weight.

Not if you accomplish the goal.

Not if everyone approves of you.

Not if you finally get your life together.

If the Son sets you free.

Period.

I’ve realized that maybe the next chapter of my life isn’t about becoming more impressive.

Maybe it’s about becoming more free.

Free to rest.

Free to laugh.

Free to change direction.

Free to say no.

Free to not have all the answers.

Free to be a work in progress.

Free to care for my body without making my body my identity.

Free to serve God without believing everything depends on me.

Free to trust Him when I can’t see the whole plan.

Free to receive the grace I’ve spent so much time telling other people about.

And maybe that’s what God is doing in you too.

Maybe He’s not asking you to build something bigger.

Maybe He’s asking you to lay something down.

Maybe He’s not asking you to try harder.

Maybe He’s asking you to trust deeper.

Maybe He’s not asking you to become someone new.

Maybe He’s reminding you who you already are in Christ.

You are loved.

You are redeemed.

You are His.

You don’t have to earn what Jesus has already purchased for you.

So today, I’m choosing to stop measuring my life by how much I accomplish and start measuring it by how faithfully I surrender.

Because I don’t want to spend my life becoming more impressive.

I want to become more free.

And if freedom is found in Jesus, then maybe the most important thing I can do today isn’t more.

Maybe it’s simply opening my hands and saying:

“Jesus, this is Yours. My body. My plans. My work. My family. My future. My expectations. My need to control. My desire to be enough. It’s all Yours.”

And then trusting Him with what happens next.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
— John 8:36

Reflection Questions

Where are you trying to perform when God is inviting you to surrender?

What expectation are you carrying that Jesus never asked you to carry?

What would it look like today to receive His grace instead of trying to earn His approval?

Prayer

Jesus,

Thank You that my worth isn’t determined by what I accomplish.

Forgive me for the ways I’ve tried to earn what You freely give.

Teach me to surrender instead of striving.
To rest instead of constantly producing.
To trust instead of trying to control.
To receive Your grace instead of demanding perfection from myself.

Remind me that I am already loved, already seen, already Yours.

And when I forget, gently bring me back to You.

I don’t want to spend my life trying to become more impressive.

I want to become more free.

Amen.