There’s a moment I think every woman knows all too well—when life feels like it’s moving faster than your soul can keep up.
For me, it usually happens in the kitchen.
Half-drunk coffee…
Dishes stacked higher than I meant to let them…
A to-do list forming before I’ve even had a chance to breathe…
And in those moments, it feels like if I don’t push harder, hustle more, or hold everything together perfectly, it will all fall apart.
But here’s the truth I’ve been learning, slowly and gently:
Strength doesn’t come from holding everything together.
Strength comes from handing everything over.
In A Pace of Grace, I wrote:
“Surrender is hard, but it’s freeing.”
And I meant every word.
Because surrender didn’t come naturally to me.
It came through exhaustion.
Through anxiety.
Through the Holy Spirit whispering, “You don’t have to do this alone.”
**The world tells us to grit our teeth and push through.
Jesus tells us to lay it down.**
We live in a culture that celebrates self-sufficiency—
Do it all.
Be it all.
Carry it all well.
But Jesus invites us into another way entirely:
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
(Matthew 11:28)
He doesn’t tell us to get stronger first.
He doesn’t ask us to clean up or pull ourselves together.
He simply says come.
Surrender is not weakness.
Surrender is wisdom.
It’s the moment we stop pretending we’re the Savior
and remember that we already have one.
A moment of surrender that changed everything
Not long ago, I found myself feeling stretched too thin, the familiar tightness of anxiety building in my chest as I stood in my kitchen with cold coffee and crowded thoughts. My mind was racing through everything I thought I wasn’t doing well enough.
Right there—in the middle of the noise—God whispered the same verse He’s been writing across my life:
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
(Psalm 46:10)
It wasn’t a command to pause my life allowing everything to magically get done.
It was an invitation.
An invitation to release my grip.
To stop forcing outcomes.
To trust that the God who holds the universe can hold me too.
Nothing around me changed instantly.
But I changed.
My breathing slowed.
My focus shifted.
My shoulders softened under the weight of His presence.
That is the power of surrender.
Surrender is not giving up — it's giving God room to move.
When we surrender, we make space for:
• Peace that replaces panic
• Clarity that quiets confusion
• Strength that lifts what we cannot carry
• Provision we couldn’t have manufactured
• Joy we didn’t have to earn
Surrender takes us out of striving mode
and places us back into receiving mode.
This is the rhythm Jesus modeled, the rhythm our soul longs for.
A simple “Surrender Prayer” for your week
I want to give you a prayer straight from my own journal:
“Lord, I release what is not mine to carry.
I trust You with what I cannot control.
Lead me at Your pace today.
Make me aware of Your presence
and remind me that Your strength is enough for me.”
Pray it slowly.
Breathe deeply.
Let those words settle into every rushed and restless place.
How to Practice Surrender in Real, Everyday Ways
Here are a few gentle rhythms that make surrender practical:
1. Pause before you respond
Give the Holy Spirit space to lead instead of reacting from pressure.
2. Ask God: “What can I release today?”
Sometimes it’s a mindset.
Sometimes it’s a responsibility.
Sometimes it’s control.
3. Let the unfinished be okay
This one is hard… but so holy.
God never asked for perfection.
He asked for trust.
4. Move slowly on purpose
Slowness is a spiritual practice.
A way of saying, “God, I’m not in charge of the timing—You are.”
Surrender is where your strength returns.
When we stop trying to be the source and start trusting the Source, we find a strength that is steady, quiet, and deeply rooted.
The kind of strength that doesn’t fade when our day goes sideways.
The kind that doesn’t crumble when someone needs more than we expected.
The kind that isn’t dependent on us—but on Him.
This is the beauty of surrender:
It brings us back into the arms of a God who carries us.
✨ A Note About the Book
If your heart feels weary or overextended, A Pace of Grace speaks directly to this place. In its pages, I share how God used surrender to reshape my pace, my peace, and my entire way of showing up in the world.
My prayer is that as you read it, you’ll feel less alone…
and more held by the One who loves you deeply.
