Rest in the Chaos

Arise and shine, dear one! God is with you!

My phone buzzed with a notification from the school district about potential changes coming. At that same moment, I heard the voices of two of my children, talking over each other:

"Mom! I want to go to the park... can we pleeeeeease go right now?"

"Mom! There's a sale on clothes for back-to-school and it's today only. Can we go? When can we leave? How much can we spend?"

My phone buzzed again, this time a text from a friend, as my oldest child announced there was a garage sale with fishing supplies he wanted to check out… today, of course. With each new need, my thoughts spiraled:
What impact will these school district changes have on my kids?

Of course my son wants to go to the park that's the furthest away. How am I supposed to fit that into today?
I haven't even looked at our budget for back-to-school shopping yet... but it's a good sale. How much can we actually spend right now?

My head began to spin and my heart raced. It felt like too many decisions and too many people needed me, all at once. Everything was coming at me in the same breath, and I could feel myself reaching my limit.

I longed for time to sit, gather my thoughts, tackle one thing at a time, and carry my worries to the feet of Jesus. I took a deep breath to calm my body, inhaling "The Lord is my shepherd" and exhaling "I have all that I need."

In that moment, I remembered Jesus' words to His disciples, as if He were speaking directly to my heart: "Come to me, daughter. I know you're weary and overwhelmed. Rest in me. I've got you."

His peace met me in the middle of my chaos. One request at a time, I surrendered my struggles to Jesus, and one by one, my racing heart began to settle.

Are you feeling overwhelmed today, dear one? Take a deep breath. Come to the One who offers you rest, and lay your burdens down before Him. Whatever is spinning through your mind right now… the texts, the requests, the what-ifs… bring it to Jesus, one thing at a time. He's got you.