Every weekend, I usually glance at our calendar for the week ahead just to see what’s coming.

Do we have time to breathe, chill, and just be at home?

Or are we bracing for impact with the schedule ahead of us?

Well, this weekend was no different. I sat down with a cup of coffee in hand, my calendar pulled up on my phone, my meal-planning spreadsheet open on my computer, and it hit me… this is one of those bracing for impact weeks.

“Ok… whew. I’ve got this. Thankfully it’s only a crazy week for me… not necessarily everyone. Brian can still be home a few nights…

Bible study on Monday.

Marriage group on Tuesday.

A meeting on Wednesday.

Meetings all day Thursday… praise team practice.

Something scheduled on Friday.

And then soccer and people coming over on Saturday… oh wow.”

And just like that, I did it again.

Not to mention the meals that need to be cooked, the dishes that need to be done, the laundry with the never-ending pile. (Sidenote: Laundry is laughable to me. You get all caught up and then the very next day it’s a mountain again. It literally never stops. I would rather scrub toilets than do laundry.)

The thing we can miss sometimes is that the heaviness we carry from day to day doesn’t have to look dramatic. Everyone can be healthy, relatively happy, and doing things they love – and you can still feel beat down, worn out, exhausted. Sometimes the heaviness builds subtly… slowly… and you think you have things under control.

But then it hits you over the head like a ton of bricks.

Listen, friend.

If life feels heavy right now… you’re not broken.

You aren’t failing.

You’re human.

The Myth of “I Should Be Fine”

I know I’ve felt this – and because we’re all in this together, I’m fairly certain you have too.

We feel this duty to keep going, to not think about the weight on our shoulders, to just take the next step forward.

Or as Dory famously says… “Just keep swimming.”

Is that wrong? I mean… no. We do have to keep going. We have precious people depending on us. We have little eyes (or in my case… older teenage eyes) watching us.

So yes – we keep going even when we don’t feel like it.

But does that mean we have to ignore it?

Does that mean we shouldn’t identify how it makes us feel?

Does that mean we can’t admit to each other that it just plain sucks sometimes?

One thing about our culture as women in the Christian community is this stigma: “If you just had big enough faith, you wouldn’t be struggling so badly.”

But friend… that’s a lie straight from the pits of hell.

All throughout Scripture we see people who struggled in the midst of their faith. Scripture never presents faith as the absence of struggle. Some of the strongest women in the Bible carried deep heaviness right alongside their trust in God.

Sarah believed God’s promise, yet in her disappointment she laughed in disbelief when she heard it again (Genesis 18:12–13).

Hannah poured out her soul “in bitterness of heart,” weeping as she prayed for what felt endlessly delayed (1 Samuel 1:10).

Ruth clung to faith in the middle of grief and an uncertain future (Ruth 1:16–18).

Esther stepped forward with trembling courage, admitting the real fear that came with obedience (Esther 4:14–16).

Even Mary, blessed for her belief, walked through confusion and sorrow as she carried God’s calling (Luke 1:45).

These women weren’t “fine.”

They were faithful – and God met them right in the middle of their humanity.

Where Jesus Actually Meets Us

Life can be tough.

We can feel overwhelmingly exhausted.

Life gets busy – the appointments, the school runs, the errands.

It gets exhausting – the endless gymnastics of schedules, making sure everyone gets where they need to be, making sure everyone has food in their bellies… and not just food, but something with actual nutrition. (Not just Takis and Dr Pepper… if I could insert a guilty face emoji, I would.)

Cleaning. Planning meals. Getting groceries.

School functions. Practices. Emails with teachers.

And somehow, in the middle of all of that, we’re supposed to take care of ourselves too.

I’ve had to take a hard look at this within myself.

In certain seasons, I remember feeling resentment –  not toward anyone in particular, but just… inside.

I experienced a pretty radical encounter with the Holy Spirit in the middle of this kind of chaos.

I realized I was trying to get everything done. I didn’t want to look like a failure. I wanted to be a good wife, a good mom, a good friend, someone people could look up to… but I was trying to do it all in my own strength.

Sure… it worked for a little while.

Until it didn’t.

John 4:4 – 14 – Jesus Meets a Woman in the Middle of Her Ordinary Life

It was the heat of the day – uncomfortable, exhausting, the last time anyone wants to be outside. But Jesus knew this woman would be at the well. He knew she’d be drawing water…

She was carrying on with a very ordinary, very mundane task.

And instead of waiting for a more convenient moment, He met her right there.

In the middle of the ordinary.

Jesus isn’t waiting for you to sit down at the perfect moment with your coffee and no distractions. He wants to climb into whatever is going on around you right now and sit with you there.

What are some of the most mundane tasks you do each day?

Where are the areas that seem so small and insignificant to you?

Is it the 2 a.m. feeding where you’re barely able to keep your eyes open?

Is it the 6 a.m. wake-up as you’re making sure everyone is up and moving?

Is it the school drop-off or waiting in that crazy pickup line?

The 5 p.m. rush to get home and get dinner on the table before the evening routine?

Where is it?

Friend, let me encourage you – in those moments that seem small and insignificant… those moments that make you wish you didn’t have one more thing to check off your to-do list… that’s where God steps in.

The heaviness can be our sign – our invitation to slow down, to breathe, to be honest, and to receive from Him.

Choosing Presence Over Perfection 

The truth is… Jesus isn’t waiting for you to finally get your life sorted out before He steps in. He isn’t standing off in the distance, waiting for the perfect quiet moment, the perfect spiritual posture, or the perfect version of you. He meets you right in the middle of your real life – the messy, noisy, ordinary parts you’re convinced don’t matter.

He meets you in the car line.

He meets you at the kitchen sink.

He meets you in the 2 a.m. feeding.

He meets you in the grocery aisle.

He meets you in the calendar chaos.

He meets you in the heaviness you barely have words for.

And He meets you in the places you don’t even realize you need Him.

So as we step into this week together, let’s choose a different rhythm.

Not perfection.

Not performance.

Not pretending we’re fine.

Let’s choose presence.

When the exhaustion hits… pause.

When the frustration rises… breathe.

When the heaviness speaks… whisper, “Jesus, meet me here.”

Because He will.

He always does.

And He will keep meeting you – again and again – right in the middle of your everyday life.

This is where the journey begins.

You’re not walking this alone.

I’m right here with you.

And more importantly… so is He.