Lately, my life feels like a jumbled heap of iPhone to-do Notes, laundry piles, Zoom links, and ungraded essays. The back-to-school season is always a whirlwind, but this year it feels like the volume is turned all the way up.
I am a single working mom. My calendar is booked with online classes to prep, in-person teaching, freelance editing projects, and extracurriculars for my son. Reminders for bills to pay sit in my inbox.
Dishes multiply in the sink like they were commanded to be fruitful and multiply.
My car was recently totaled by a falling tree.
And yet, life does not pause when we are overwhelmed. There are meals to cook, lessons to plan, deadlines to meet, and my son, who needs me to be present.
It is a lot. But God has not overlooked me in this season.
Why God Allows Overwhelming Seasons
When everything in life hits at once, it’s tempting to believe that God has forgotten our limits. The truth is often the opposite: these seasons strip the illusion that we can do everything in our own strength.
The Apostle Paul said, “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure… But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God” (2 Corinthians 1:8–9).
That verse tells me I’m not wrong for feeling overwhelmed. But it also reminds me that God allows these moments to occur so my own strength isn’t what I rely on to see me through.
God never promised a life without trouble, but He promised His presence.
The Invitation in the Overwhelm
If you are in your own challenging season, here’s what I’m learning:
- Overwhelm is an invitation to release control
- Burnout is an invitation to rest in God
- Chaos is an invitation to notice small blessings
The Psalmist writes: “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14).
So that’s what I do. Wait. Trust. Even when life is hard.
And maybe that’s what these seasons are for… to shape us into people who know where their true strength comes from.
The Still Small Voice 
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