A To-Do List For the Weary Heart

Friday is here again. Another week has come and gone.

Maybe next week will feel slower, I subconsciously whisper to myself.

And deep down, I already know: probably not.

It’s a season. A season that is full and beautiful. Homeschooling, running a business, supporting my husband as he launches a business, being there for people who need me (and I want to be there for), extended family needs and celebrations...it’s all good. So much of it is deeply good.

But even good things can make life feel very full. Overwhelmingly so at times.

So if you, like me, need a small exhale today, I’m really glad you’re here.

My heart is for this read to feel like a 90-second holy pause in the middle of your day. Not one more thing you have to accomplish. Just a tiny invitation to stop, breathe, remember what is true, and receive a little life back into your weary heart.

You are carrying more than you may realize.

So here is your to-do list, with one solitary goal:

to gently infuse a little life back into you.

Take the next 90 seconds and walk through it with me.

1. Breathe. Take three of the deepest breaths you can. Hold each one for five seconds, then exhale slowly through pursed lips.

2. Remember who you love. Close your eyes and picture the faces of three people you are deeply grateful for.

3. Read this out loud:

“The Lord your God is in your midst,a mighty one who will save;he will rejoice over you with gladness;he will quiet you by his love;he will exult over you with loud singing.”—Zephaniah 3:17

Pause there for just a second: He will quiet you by His love.

4. Let your body unclench. Roll your neck gently to the left, then to the right. Slowly roll it in a circle. Let your shoulders drop away from your ears.

5. Pet something furry. If you have a pet nearby, take a moment to stroke its head. No rushing. Just be there.

6. Hug someone you love.If a family member or loved one is nearby, give them a long hug. Thirty seconds if they’ll let you (Oxytoxin actually releases in your brain). There’s something beautifully regulating about simply being held by someone we love.

7. Pray this simple prayer that I pray often: Your time, Your will, Your way in my life, O Lord.

8. Look for something beautiful. If you’re near a window or outside, find one thing and look at it for ten seconds. A tree moving in the wind. Light on the floor. A flower. The clouds flaoting across the sky. Don’t analyze it. Just appreciate that it is beautiful.

9. Remember who God is. Name out loud three attributes of God that bring you deep comfort. For me today, it’s His providence, His steadfast love, and His gentleness.

10. And finally, receive this prayer over you.

Lord, I pray for my sister.

You see her. You know her better than she knows herself. You know how hard she works. You know the things she carries quietly and the things that have been weighing heavily on her heart.

Help her to rest in Jesus right now. Right here, in this very moment.

Help her to be present in the life You have given her today. Lift her eyes toward heaven, filling her with hope.

Give her Your peace.

May Your life-giving presence meet her in the middle of the work, the caregiving, the conversations, the responsibilities, the uncertainty, the dreams, and all the things she hasn’t gotten to yet. Quiet her by Your love.

Remind her that she does not have to hold everything together because you are here.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thanks for being here. You are the reason this blog exists.

Grace and peace to you, dear sister.