Today, you Rest, Tomorrow you Rise

2023 was not what I expected it to be. 

I started the year off full speed ahead. Guns blazing, positioned at the start line,  with my eyes on the prize. I was ready to go with all goals, dreams, visions, and passion inside of me. 

Instead, 2023 was a year of putting some things I had hoped for on pause, because my heart and body needed to heal. 

I was lying in bed one day, recovering from an unexpected, but needed surgery. Feeling overwhelmed and discouraged, processing unexpected betrayals that had happened just a couple of months prior, significant leadership challenges we were facing, and questioning if I could or would trust anyone ever again. 

I wondered if the visions, hopes, dreams, and passions that God had put in my heart would ever come to full fruition. I felt like time was wasted because I was dealing with things that were out of my control.  I felt helpless, physically and mentally, and emotionally exhausted. 

I didn’t have the strength, and I’m a pretty strong woman. I usually take things head on and honestly, not much gets me down or stops me for too long. This though, it was a tough one to just bounce back from. My name may mean warrior, but even warriors get wounded sometimes. 

I laid there in bed with tears rolling down my face asking the Lord many things. 

Sitting in the stillness of this moment I was having with the Lord, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said “Today you rest. Tomorrow you rise.” 

I felt a wave of relief come over me because I knew at that moment that God saw me. He understood, and He cared. So, I rested. I rested in the secret place where the shadow of the Almighty covered me, I let the oil of gladness saturate me. I put on my garment of praise and allowed the heaviness to begin to lift. 

Friends, I want to encourage you to allow yourself time to rest. Time to breathe. Time to heal. Don’t run on empty just to accomplish the to-do lists we create for ourselves. The ones we make out of fear that if we don’t do it then it will be gone or our time will be up. 

You are human, and this world will yank you by the hair and toss you to and fro if you let it. 

Today, you rest my friend, but tomorrow you WILL rise. 

You WILL rise renewed, refreshed, strengthened, restored, focused, and you WILL soar like an Eagle.  

You WILL rise to your calling and to your purpose, more prepared than ever, more equipped than ever, more passionate than ever, and more anointed than ever. 

Today you rest. Tomorrow you RISE.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: KELLY CARVER

Kelly is a wife, mother of three and lover of all things sparkly. Encouraging, motivating, and inspiring others through Gods word is Kelly’s passion. Whether it be speaking and teaching, or sitting over a cup of coffee, her heart is to see everyone unlock their God-given potential and embrace their uniqueness. Kelly has served in ministry with her husband Scott for 20 years. They have three children Victoria-22, Lucas-17 and  Aiden-12
Kelly is currently living in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania where she and  Scott serve as the lead Pastors of Pleasant Valley Assembly. In 2017 Kelly published her first book "Brave Resilient Beautiful" for teen girls.