Rest for the Weary Workin’ Mama Soul, a 7-Day Devotional by KeNosha Whiteheadনমুনা

Day 1: The Invitation to Rest

Dear Workin’ Mama,

I see you.

Before your big presentation, gently applying concealer to the bags under your eyes gathered from a night of cuddling your teething toddler. Before your overnight shift, systematically preparing school clothes and lunches to ensure a smooth morning routine in your absence. Before your out-of-town conference, meticulously arranging frozen bags of stored breastmilk so your baby can be nourished while you’re away. Before your Zoom call, frantically settling rambunctious littles so you can appear poised and professional on camera. Before the big school event, guiltily inquiring if a loved one can, in your stead, show up to support your child because you have a pressing work conflict.

I feel you.

You are weary. You are worn. You are worried that all your hard work will one day cause your children to resent you rather than rise up and call you blessed.

I hear you.

Desperately crying out for rest, which, if you are honest, you have convinced yourself, is unrealistic and unattainable.

Would you believe me if I told you that you, in fact, can rest? That you, believe it or not, can live a rest-filled life?

By rest, I do not mean a cat nap, a trip to the salon and spa, a Target run, or a 20-minute reprieve on a drive alone through the Starbucks line. While those simple pleasures can provide relaxation and refreshment, I contend that rest, especially the kind of rest a workin’ mama needs, is an altogether different notion.

Rest is a promised gift from Jesus, our compassionate Savior and trustworthy Lord.

Rest is to exchange the survival mode of “keeping it together,” “making it happen,” and “balancing it out” for a surrendered dependence on the One who is truly in control. Rest is to cast every care at the feet of your Heavenly Father, who unconditionally loves and gently cares for you. Rest is to take life one God-ordered step at a time.

Praise the Lord that the rest he gives is not contingent on a restful environment or restful circumstances! His rest can be well received and wholly lived out amidst the countless, chaotic duties and deadlines that make up a workin’ mama’s portion.

Rest is holy. Rest is healthy. Rest is non-negotiable.

And because of Christ, rest is yours.

Precious sister, I pray you leave this devotional a workin’ mama who has adamantly abandoned weariness and ardently accepted Jesus’s sincere and standing invitation to you to come to Him and to rest.

Reflection Questions:

1. As a working mom, what does it look like for me to “come to Jesus” for rest in my own life?