The Hearts Hello

Rest: Your Secret Weapon

• Keona T. Ellerbe • Season 2 • Episode 39

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Have you ever worn exhaustion like a badge of honor? That's the dangerous trap we're challenging in this powerful conversation about why rest is actually a weapon, not a weakness.

As Mental Health Awareness Month begins, we're flipping the script on hustle culture. Society glorifies being busy, but when was the last time you genuinely rested without guilt? Not just sleep, but true restoration that clears your mind and renews your spirit. We've somehow twisted rest into a synonym for laziness, but nothing could be further from the truth.

This raw, unedited conversation delivers three practical ways to reclaim rest: honoring your natural rhythm (you're human, not a machine), setting sacred boundaries (an open schedule doesn't mean your energy is available), and inviting spiritual presence into your stillness. For the over-functioners constantly worried everything will fall apart if they step away – this message is your wake-up call. You don't have to carry what was never meant to be yours.

Remember that even God rested after creation. If the architect of the universe needed a break, why are you trying to power through without one? Your body will eventually force you to rest if you don't choose it willingly. The pause isn't falling behind – it's allowing wisdom to go before you, creating space to hear the whispers that get drowned out by constant activity. 

Ask yourself today: Where can I slow down so I don't shut down? Where can I trust and take a nap? Where can I give myself what I freely give others? The pause isn't the end of your story – it's exactly what your purpose needs to thrive. Share this message with someone running on empty and join our community as we navigate this journey together.

Speaker 1:

Hey, so let's go ahead and jump straight into this week's episode. You all, I'm excited because we have entered into a new month and this particular topic falls right in alignment with the month that we are in Hold. On, let me first stop and just say thank you. Let me say thank you for joining in on this episode today and listening and sharing your time with me, because I do not take it for granted that you share your most precious gift with me, which is your time. So again, thank you. All right, so, now that I have given you all my thanks for joining this week's episode, again, what I was saying is that we have entered into May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month, and so this week's topic is right in alignment with that. We are discussing why rest is a weapon, not a weakness. So again, here we are in mental health awareness and so many people talk about rest.

Speaker 1:

But are you really resting? Are you okay with resting? Are you okay with being able to say no to some things that you may have said yes to in certain seasons? Last month, we dove into some things that we were unlearning to relearn, and I need us to unlearn this dangerous lie that rest is a weapon, that pausing means you're falling behind, that exhaustion is the badge of the strong. Now we put in all of that down. So, just like the other things that we unlearned last month, I need you to add those to your list, because no more are we saying that rest is a weakness, no more are we saying that pausing means that we're falling behind, no more is exhaustion going to be the badge that we wear and we think that it's okay because it's not. So let me ask you something real when was the last time you rested without guilt? No, I'm not just talking about sleep, but truly resting. See, the world glorifies busy Hustle, is praised and somewhere I don't know where along the way, rest became synonymous with laziness. But I want to flip the table on that for you right now. Rest is a weapon. See, rest is what clears your mind, softens your spirit and restores your strength. So how can we call that a weakness? I would deem it wisdom. I would deem it wisdom. So, when we pause, we're not falling behind, because we're allowing God to go before us.

Speaker 1:

Now, for those of you all who this is not your first time listening to this show, I will interchangeably say us, we, because I believe that we are all traveling on this journey together and none of us have arrived, so our we is. When I'm saying raise your hand nine times out of 10, I'm raising my hand too, because there isn't anything that I have shared on this show, on this podcast, that I have not personally lived through, gone through and where I'm sharing with you, or what I'm sharing with you is my personal account on what has worked, on those things that I have worked with clients and is working with them too, or working for them too, or working for them too. You'll also, while I'm here, notice that I do not go back and edit, and I do not do that because none of us can go back and edit life. So what you get from this show is going to be realness. What you get from this show is going to be raw. What you get from this show is going to be truth and authenticity. See, I'm not going back to edit that, because you need to hear that none of us are perfect. So back to the regularly scheduled program.

Speaker 1:

As we are talking about rest, see, I remember a season where I kept going, showing up for everyone, pushing past exhaustion, telling myself just one more thing but has your body ever put you in time out where you had to learn that enough was enough and it was going to make you rest, even when you felt like you could keep going? See, sometimes we get to this space where our body is just like enough is enough, and so you can either choose rest or rest will choose you, and that pause was and is the moment, sometimes, that we meet ourselves. Maybe this episode is that moment for you, maybe this is exactly what you need. So, while you're listening to me, stop scrolling on your phone, stop doing all of the other things and I know sometimes we have to multitask but let's begin to recognize that sometimes we don't need to do that either. Sometimes we just need to be present in our moments. And so I want to just share some tips with you on how to use rest as a weapon.

Speaker 1:

I'm just going to give you three ways where you can start reclaiming your rest. The first one is going to be honor your rhythm. You're not a computer, you're not the smartphone. You're not a computer. You're not the smartphone, you're not a machine. So you're going to have to tune into your body's need and stop apologizing for being human. The second thing is set sacred boundaries. Just because your schedule is open doesn't mean your energy is available. I will say that again Just because your schedule is open doesn't mean your energy is available. Rest needs space, rest needs space. The third thing is invite God into your stillness. See, the pause is where clarity lives. Sometimes you don't need a new plan.

Speaker 1:

You need to sit still enough to hear the one who is already whispering to you. Have you ever had someone whisper something to you but because you're too busy moving around, you don't hear all of the things that's being said to you. God's voice is a whisper and sometimes, when you need to hear, it is because you need to sit still. So, again, what I've talked about before is that sometimes we live in this culture where it's busy, busy, busy, hustle, hustle, hustle, but no one is talking about the rest that is necessary and needed.

Speaker 1:

And for those of you all who believe in the Bible, god rested. He did all of these amazing things for six days and then he said you know what? I need to take a rest. So why do you think, as one who is created in God's image, that you don't need to rest? God created the universe, created all of this stuff around and he still found time to rest. God created the universe, created all of this stuff around, and he still found time to rest.

Speaker 1:

So I need you to lean into not just the rest in this season, but the fact that you need to sit still enough to hear the directions that you need to move in the way that you need to go, what you may need to let go of, what you may need to pick up, what may be for another season, but you're trying to cram everything into one. Sometimes you just have to sit still enough and then we have to let people play their role while we rest. For those of you all who may be parents and have spouses, you still need rest, and so the children will be the children. The husband or the wife will do what they do, but you will have to rest. See, this is one for those who are over functioners, the ones who don't rest because they think everything will fall apart if they stop.

Speaker 1:

And I promise you that if you stop, the things will keep going, that people will begin to figure it out, because you can't be the best version of yourself if you're burnt out. You can only give but so much, and so at some point you're trying to pour from an empty cup and you can't. You try to squeeze the last bit out so that you can pour out just a little more. But what will happen if you take just a few moments to yourself to rest? How much better you will show up in the lives of the people that you love. How much you will be great at your job and in your business and all of the things that you love't. Do that when you are mentally exhausted. So hear me, let them play their role. You don't have to carry what God assigned to someone else. You're not letting go of control, you're letting go of your over functioning and that right there, my dear, is part of your healing too.

Speaker 1:

So, as we wrap up this episode, I need you to check in with your heart this week. I need you to ask yourself where can I slow down so I don't shut down? Where can I trust God and take a nap? Where can I give myself what I so freely give to everyone else? And I'm going to say this rest is not selfish, is sacred, and it's your permission slip to breathe again. So if any of this spoke to you, I'm hoping that it did. Don't keep it to yourself. Share it with someone who's been running on empty and let's keep the conversation going. Tag me in your post, let me know what you're getting from this, let me know what you need more of, and I'll be posting more rest reminders this week, so just join me over at the hearts, hello, and remember the pause isn't the end of your story. It's the rest your purpose needs. So until next time, keep showing up with your heart, keep showing up as you.