Come to Me and Rest

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28 (ESV)

I know what heavy laden feels like. Not just tired — worn down to the bone. Years ago I carried things no one could see: addiction, shame, the ache of broken relationships with my children, nights where I wondered if I would ever get free. I tried to carry it all myself, and it nearly crushed me.

Then came the day I stopped running. September 5, 2021, I walked to an altar and surrendered completely — I wanted nothing to do with that lifestyle anymore. And Jesus didn’t hand me a list of things to fix first. He handed me rest. Real rest. The kind that reaches the places striving never could.

Rest didn’t come all at once, and it didn’t mean life got easy. I still work long days caring for others. I still have nights when racing thoughts won’t quiet and words someone said keep weighing on me. But I’ve learned what to do with that weight now: I come home, I put on worship music, sometimes I just listen and read His Word, sometimes I sing my heart out — and I let the Holy Spirit fill what got emptied out of me during the day. That’s rest. Not escaping life, but handing it back to the One who carries it with me.

And slowly, God restored what I thought was gone for good. My children. My purpose. A voice I once was afraid to use, now teaching others at Recovery Café that they don’t have to carry their burdens alone either.

So if you’re weary tonight, friend — truly weary, the kind of tired sleep doesn’t fix — hear Him: come. You don’t have to get yourself together first. You don’t have to earn the rest. Bring Him the heavy thing, the broken thing, the thing you’ve been carrying too long. He is not disappointed in your weariness. He is inviting you into His rest.

Prayer: Lord, I bring You everything I’ve been carrying — the tiredness, the worry, the parts of my story that still ache. Teach me to rest in You, not by running from my life, but by trusting that You are holding it, and holding me. Fill the empty places with Your peace, and remind me tonight that I am Yours. Amen.