Learning to Rest Without Guilt

Shaniqua Smith
Dec 12, 2025
1 min read

Updated: Jan 1

Rest used to feel like something I had to earn.

I told myself I could slow down after I finished everything. After I showed up well. After I proved I was responsible, faithful, and productive enough. But “after” never really came.

Lately, I’ve been noticing how often we carry guilt into our rest. We sit down, but our minds stay standing. We pause, but our hearts keep running. Even in stillness, we’re negotiating with ourselves.

What I’m learning is that rest isn’t a reward, but it’s a requirement.

Not the kind of rest that avoids responsibility, but the kind that allows us to breathe again. The kind that makes space for God to meet us where we actually are, not where we think we should be.

Sometimes rest looks like doing less.

Sometimes it looks like saying no without explaining.

Sometimes it’s just admitting, I’m tired, and letting that be true.

There’s a tenderness that comes when we stop forcing ourselves forward. When we let go of the pressure to be strong all the time. When we allow our faith to be quiet and steady instead of loud and performative.

If you’re learning how to rest again slowly, imperfectly, you’re not alone. There’s grace here.

No timeline. No checklist.

Just permission.

Today, I’m choosing softness over striving.