I Needed to Pick Up Too

She had things to say. She always does. But somewhere between having everything to say and actually saying it, she got quiet.

In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on why Girl, Pick Up went on hiatus, and it wasn't just life getting busy. It was a moment of honest reckoning: when did I stop doing this with God and start doing it for Him?

We're sitting in Psalm 46:10 today, "Be still, and know that I am God," and unpacking what stillness actually costs when you've tied your worth to your output. We're talking imposter syndrome, overbuilding, the difference between proving yourself and being faithful, and why sometimes the most obedient thing you can do is put it all down.

If you're in a quiet season right now and it feels like falling behind, this one's for you.

The sabbatical wasn't a detour. It was part of the path.

Girl, Pick Up is a podcast by EmpowerHER Spirit, created for the woman who's ready to answer the call — on faith, purpose, and the real conversations nobody else is having.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hey girl. Hey, can I be honest with you about something? Because I almost didn't call. I had plenty to say, and I always do, but somewhere between having everything to say and actually saying it, I got a little bit lost. And that's exactly why I needed to call you today. Girl, pick up. We need to talk. Hey girl. Hey girl, what's up? Hey girl. Hey girl, what's up? Oh, that's the word. Okay, so if you've been here, first of all, thank you, genuinely, because you showed up and then I disappeared on you. And I'm not gonna just skip over that like it didn't happen. But here's the truth. I went on a hiatus because I had to. Life got busy, yeah, but that wasn't it. And I still had a lot of things to say, so that wasn't it either. But what had happened was I looked up one day and realized I was doing too much and none of it was getting done well. I had the podcast, the Bible study, the membership community, I had content that I wanted to create, events I wanted to plan, and resources that I wanted to build, and I was trying to run it all of it by myself and all at once. And so what started off as obedience started to feel like overwhelm, and my calling started to feel like a checklist. So I had to stop and ask myself, when did I stop doing this with God and start doing it for God? Because there is a difference. Doing something with God means that you're in step with him, you're gonna move when he moves, you're still when he's still, building what he said to build in the order that he said to build it. But doing something for God, that's when you've picked up the vision and started running on your own with your own timeline and off your own strength, making it happen because you believe in it so much that you forget to keep checking in. And I had crossed that line. I could feel it because the joy was draining out of it. The things that used to feel like purpose started to feel like pressure, and I kept pushing anyway because stopping felt like I was failing. But here's what God showed to me in that season stopping is not always failure, sometimes it's obedience, and sometimes the most faithful thing that you can do is put it down, get still, and let God reorder what you picked up out of sequence. So that's exactly what I did. I stepped back, I got quiet, and I recentered. And in that quiet place, God gave me clarity that I could not have gotten while I was still running. So our scripture today is Psalms 46 and 10, and it says, Be still and know that I am God. Now I know you've heard this verse before. You've probably seen it on a little coffee mug, or somebody probably has it printed in their living room or their bedroom, but I want us to look at it differently today. Be still. God said that because he meant it, he knew we would need to hear it, and he already saw us running ourselves into the ground and wanted to say, Hey, stop and come here. Be still. And then the next part says, Know that I am God. That word no, God is talking about something deeper than just awareness, deeper than just believing that he exists. He means to know me intimately, know me personally. That kind of knowing, it only comes through time, showing up, and relationship. So, what God is saying is get still enough to actually experience me beyond just believing in me and serving me, know me. And I think a lot of us who are building things, especially in ministry, have accidentally replaced intimacy with activity. We get so busy doing the work that we stop sitting with the one who gave us the work. And stillness feels uncomfortable when we've tied our worth into our output. And so when we stop, we feel unproductive, and when we're not building, we feel like we're falling behind. But God says to be still and in that stillness, know Him. Everything you're building has to come from that place because that's where the real work happens. So here's what happened in my stillness. God started to show me that the overwhelm wasn't just random, it was a symptom. I was trying to do everything at once because somewhere deep down, I didn't trust the pace. I didn't trust the one thing that I was doing well was enough. I didn't trust that being slow and faithful was still being faithful. And if I'm really being honest, imposter syndrome had kicked back in a little bit. And imposter syndrome tells us when we're building something, you need to do more, you need to show more, you need to prove that this is real. Because if you slow down, people are going to see that you don't actually know what you're doing. And so I was overbuilding, overcommitting. I was saying yes to every idea because slowing down had felt like proof that maybe I didn't belong in this space. Does that sound familiar? And so God had to sit me down and say, I didn't call you to prove yourself, I called you to be faithful. And those things are not the same. Proving yourself is about managing perception. Faithfulness, though, is about staying in alignment. And so I could not be faithful to the actual call while I was too busy trying to make sure it looked like I had it all together. And so I did something that felt scary, and that was simplifying. I went back to the root of what empower her actually is about the Bible study, because that's where it all started, and truly that is the heartbeat of this organization. Everything else that we do grows from there. And then I made another decision and I enrolled in school. School, y'all. I thought I was truly done with that. But God also showed me something else. I had a vision for building this nonprofit the right way, but I kept trying to figure it out on my own instead of actually learning how. So I wasn't going to build what God put in my heart by just working harder. I needed wisdom, structure, and I needed to truly be a student again. So that's what I'm doing. I'm learning, I'm building slowly and correctly this time, and I'm honoring the vision enough to do it right. And here's what I want you to take from this story today. Stepping back is not the same as giving up. Getting still is also not the same as being stagnant. And doing less, y'all, is not the same as being less. Sometimes God slows us down because he's preparing us for something that we're not ready for at the speed that we're moving. And so my sabbatical wasn't just a detour, but it was part of my path. And if you're in a quiet season right now, if you feel like you're behind, like everybody else is moving and you're standing still, maybe your stillness isn't punishment. Maybe you have to look at it as preparation. And so here's the one thing for this week that I want you to take away. I want you to identify one place in your life where you're doing something for God instead of with God. One area where the obedience has become obligation and your calling has started to feel like a checklist. I want you to find that area where you've picked up speed but lost his presence and bring it back to stillness. Get quiet with God about that one thing. Truly ask him, Am I still in step with you here or have I gotten ahead? Because God is not in a hurry. Everything he's called us to is still gonna be there when we come back into alignment because the vision doesn't expire when you get still. But real quick before I let you go, if you've been here since episode one, we are still going to continue the his masterpiece series. We are gonna finish those last six um episodes out, and we're gonna start next week. So we are gonna see it through, y'all. The his masterpiece devotional is on Amazon if you want to go deeper. The link is gonna be in the show notes. And Empower Her Spirit is back. The Bible study is back. We are so back, y'all. Tuesdays virtual. Come find us on Instagram at empowerher.spirit and DM me the word surrendered if you want in. We're gonna start July 1st. Come be in that room. Before we go, let me pray over you. Father God, I thank you for every woman who picked up today. Lord, the one who's been running so hard she forgot to breathe, the one who's been doing so much that she can't hear you anymore. God, for the one who's been fighting imposter syndrome in silence, wondering if she's really called or pretending, speak to them right now. Remind them that you are not impressed by their hustle, but you are after their heart. Give them permission to slow down, to simplify, and to come back to you before they get back to work. And Lord, for the women who is who are in quiet seasons right now, the ones that feel like they're falling behind, remind them that your time is never late. Meet them in their stillness, Lord. Let them leave this conversation knowing that you are still God, you are still faithful, and they are exactly where they need to be. In Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, girl. I'm glad I picked that up, and I'm so glad you did too. Come find us on Instagram at empowerher.spirit. If this episode hit, send it to a friend who needs to hear it. I'll talk to you next week. Girl, pick up.