You Are Not Behind: Rethinking Productivity Through Faith
Photo by Kia & Co.
There was once a season when I believed that if I just tried harder, rested later, and organized myself better, I would finally feel caught up.
Caught up with life.
Caught up with God.
Caught up with the woman I thought I was supposed to be based on everyone else’s standards except my own.
But the truth is—no matter how much I crossed off my list, the finish line kept moving further away.
Somewhere along the way, productivity stopped being a tool and quietly became a measuring stick for my worth. I slowly began to stray away from the mission that God put on my heart and was turning to “worldly” measurements. My worth became tied directly to the amount of money that was in my bank account and the number of followers I had on social media.
And honestly, I know I am not alone. I see the same quiet exhaustion in so many women I talk to.
Women who love God.
Women who are incredibly faithful to their families and communities.
Women who are just trying to doing their best everyday.
Yet still feel like they’re falling behind.
The Lie We’ve Learned to Live With
The world tells us that progress should be visible, measurable, and fast. Long gone are the days where it would be acceptable to spend years building a craft, skill, or buiness out of the sight of the public eye. Now we are facing unrealistic expectations that if we are not producing something impressive, we must be wasting time. That rest is a reward instead of a rhythm.
But Scripture tells a different story.
God rested.
Jesus withdrew.
Growth happened in seasons—often unseen.
The kingdom of God was never built through “hustle.”
It was built through presence, obedience, time, and trust.
What If You’re Not Behind at All?
What if the ache you feel isn’t failure—but invitation?
An invitation to loosen your grip.
To stop striving.
To return to what is simple and faithful.
What if productivity, as we’ve known it, isn’t the goal—fruitfulness is?
Fruit grows slowly.
Quietly.
In the dark and sometimes out of sight.
It cannot be rushed.
Creativity as a Form of Trust
This is where watercolor found me.
Not as something to master.
Not as something to monetize.
But as a way to sit still long enough to notice what God was doing beneath the surface and to connect with His word in a way I have never previously done before.
Every brushstroke from my hand required surrender. The truth is that with watercolor, you cannot fully control the water. Sometimes you have to just trust how the color will move.
And maybe that’s the lesson.
That our lives—like watercolor—were never meant to be tightly controlled. They were meant to be received.
A Gentler Way Forward
If you feel tired of chasing the version of yourself you think you should be—this is your permission to stop running.
You don’t need to prove your faith by burning yourself out.
You don’t need to earn rest.
You don’t need to hurry your healing.
You are not behind.
You are becoming.
And becoming often looks like slowing down long enough to listen.
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