Lately, I have been laughing at myself a little.
Not because life has become easy.
Not because everything is perfectly organized.
Quite the opposite, actually.
There are moments recently when I find myself staring at my calendar, my inbox, my project lists, my travel notes, my publishing schedules, and the various moving parts of family life wondering how exactly all of this happened so quickly.
One minute it felt like I was praying for movement.
The next minute everything started moving.
The Hippie Christian officially launched this week and is now available on Amazon. Sober Faith unexpectedly released early rather than waiting until July. The Stan Store that I have been talking about for months is finally beginning to come together. Wedding plans for Ubud, Indonesia are becoming real through confirmations, deposits, and actual decisions. Summer adventures with the boys are taking shape. Home renovations continue moving forward as well, with several major projects finally completed while others are still unfolding one room, one wall, and one decision at a time. Family visits, grandchildren, motherhood, coaching clients, publishing projects, creative work, and everyday responsibilities continue unfolding all at the same time.
None of those things are problems.
In fact, many of them were prayers.
Yet if I’m being completely honest, there have been moments where the sheer volume of blessings arriving simultaneously has felt surprisingly overwhelming.
That realization has been sitting with me all week.
Many of us assume stress only comes from hardship.
We think stress comes from financial struggles, illness, broken relationships, loss, uncertainty, or crisis. Certainly those situations create stress. Most of us have experienced enough of life to know that firsthand.
What we don’t talk about nearly enough is that blessings can be stressful too.
A new baby is a blessing.
A new baby is also exhausting.
A thriving business is a blessing.
A thriving business requires attention, responsibility, and leadership.
A healthy relationship is a blessing.
A healthy relationship still asks for vulnerability, communication, and intentional investment.
Dreams fulfilled remain dreams that must be managed.
Answered prayers often arrive carrying responsibility.
I think that catches many of us off guard.
For years we focus on wanting something. We ask God for growth, opportunity, abundance, healing, purpose, clarity, creativity, connection, impact, or change. We imagine the arrival but rarely consider what happens after arrival. Then one day the doors begin opening and suddenly we find ourselves standing in the middle of everything we asked for while simultaneously wondering if we have the capacity to carry it all.
The answer, I am learning, is both yes and no.
No, we cannot carry all of it at once.
Yes, we can carry today’s portion.
That distinction matters.
One of the greatest temptations during seasons of expansion is trying to mentally manage the entire future.
Flights.
Schedules.
Deadlines.
Logistics.
Timelines.
Expenses.
Launches.
Decisions.
Contingencies.
What if this happens?
What if that falls through?
What if I forget something?
What if I am not ready?
The mind loves to race ahead and attempt to solve problems that do not yet exist.
The challenge is that most of those worries belong to future versions of ourselves.
Not today’s version.
Today’s version simply has today’s responsibilities.
Jesus understood this when He said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” — Matthew 6:34
I have read that verse many times throughout my life. Recently, however, it feels less like spiritual advice and more like practical wisdom.
Most overwhelm is not actually created by today’s tasks.
Most overwhelm comes from carrying tomorrow’s responsibilities, next month’s uncertainties, and next year’s possibilities all at the same time.
No nervous system was designed for that.
One of the themes I continue returning to in both The Hippie Christian and Sober Faith is the importance of presence. Modern culture constantly trains us to live somewhere other than where we actually are. We replay the past. We rehearse the future. We obsess over outcomes. We worry about scenarios that may never happen. Meanwhile, the present moment — the only place where life is actually unfolding — often gets neglected.
That pattern creates exhaustion.
It also steals gratitude.
Because gratitude can only exist in the present.
I cannot be grateful for what I am carrying today if I am entirely consumed by what I might be carrying six months from now.
The more I reflect on this season, the more I realize that God rarely prepares us by giving us less.
More often, He prepares us by expanding our capacity.
Growth requires stretching.
Calling requires stretching.
Purpose requires stretching.
Parenthood requires stretching.
Leadership requires stretching.
Every meaningful season of life asks something of us.
The stretching is not evidence that we are failing.
The stretching is often evidence that we are growing into the very things we once prayed for.
That thought has changed something for me.
Years ago, many of the things currently creating pressure in my life were simply hopes. They were ideas scribbled in notebooks. They were conversations around future possibilities. They were prayers whispered quietly during uncertain seasons.
Now they are realities.
Beautiful, complicated, demanding, meaningful realities.
And perhaps that is the invitation for all of us today.
Instead of asking, “Why does this feel so overwhelming?” perhaps we also ask, “How much of this overwhelm is connected to prayers being answered?”
Instead of focusing only on the weight, maybe we pause long enough to recognize the gift.
Not every burden is evidence of hardship.
Sometimes the weight comes from carrying blessings.
Sometimes growth feels heavy.
Sometimes answered prayers require stewardship.
Sometimes abundance arrives faster than comfort.
And sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is stop trying to carry the entire future and simply carry today well.
Because one day we may look back and realize that the very things overwhelming us now were once the exact things we begged God to bring into our lives.
Be careful not to become so overwhelmed by answered prayers that you forget they were once the very things you asked for.
I’m curious…
What is something in your life right now that once existed only as a prayer, a dream, or a distant hope — but is now part of your everyday reality?
I’d love to hear it.
And if this resonated, share it. Someone else may need the reminder that not all overwhelm comes from hardship. Sometimes it comes from blessings arriving faster than we expected.
Let’s celebrate the prayers that became reality. Even the ones that now require us to grow.
As always loving and praying for you and our world,
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Sabina Sturzu On Unsplash
