You Weren’t Meant to Do This Alone: Finding Rest in Community as a Burnt Out Christian Mom (Part 2)
I recently went to a women’s retreat, and I’m still smiling about it. A small group of ten women, all ages and ethnicities, stayed at a beautiful Airbnb on a lake. We worshipped together. We kayaked. We played games like we were kids again. We laughed until our sides hurt. And honestly? It was exactly what my soul needed.
It was so nice to exhale finally.
Why Burnout Makes Us Isolate
If you’re a burnt-out Christian working mom, can I tell you something I see often in my counseling work? When we’re exhausted, we pull away. We cancel the coffee date. We skip the small group. We tell ourselves, I’ll connect with people when things slow down. But things rarely slow down.
So we keep carrying the mental load, the work deadlines, the school schedules, the church responsibilities, and the emotional weight of our families by ourselves. We start believing that needing people is a weakness, or that everyone else has it more together than we do. Mama, that’s one of burnout’s biggest lies.
Burnout thrives in isolation. Rest and healing grow in community.
What is Retreat?
I looked up the word “retreat” after the weekend, and the definition described it as a period of stepping away from daily routines, work, and normal duties to focus on rest, reflection, personal growth, or spiritual renewal. Notice that nothing in that definition requires perfection. It doesn’t say you have to have your life together first. It simply says step away. Even Jesus modeled this. In Mark 6:31 He said, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” He didn’t say go far away. He said come to a quiet place.
That means rest is not a reward for finishing everything. It’s an invitation from Jesus.
Iron Sharpening Iron
One of my favorite parts of the retreat was the mix of women in the room. Different ages. Different backgrounds. Different seasons of life. And there was no strife, no jealousy, and no comparison. That’s what God designed community to look like.
Titus 2:3-5 describes women learning from women. Older women walking alongside younger women, sharing wisdom and pointing one another toward Christ. When we hear Titus 2, it’s easy to feel pressure to be the perfect wife and mom. But that was never the heart of it. It’s an invitation to be an example, not a perfect example. And Proverbs 27:17 reminds us, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Sharpening doesn’t happen from a distance. It happens around tables, over coffee, in living rooms, and yes, even in kayaks. 😄
The older women didn’t have to be perfect for me to learn from them. The younger women didn’t have to have it all together for me to be encouraged by them. We just showed up honestly and let God work. That’s what made it feel like rest.
You Don’t Need a Lake House to Experience Retreat
I know what you may be thinking: Karen, that sounds amazing, but I can’t leave my family for a weekend. I hear you. And you don’t have to.
Retreat can look like:
A Saturday morning at your kitchen table with two or three women who love Jesus
A living room full of snacks, worship music, and honest conversation
A home getaway where phones are down, hearts are open, and God’s presence is welcome
A walk with an older woman who has been where you’re walking
Even one quiet hour on your calendar counts. Schedule it like an appointment, because your rest matters just as much as everything else on your list.
Create Safe Space for Other Women
When women create a safe space for one another, we make room for God’s peace. So here’s my challenge for you this month:
Ask yourself who sharpens you. Who are the women in your life who point you toward Christ?
Reach out first. Invite someone in before you feel put together. Your honesty may be the very encouragement another mom needs.
Seek wisdom from a woman who is in a different season. Find an older woman to learn from or a younger woman to encourage.
Release comparison. There’s room for everyone to flourish.
When Community Isn’t Enough
I want to be honest with you, too. Sometimes exhaustion runs deeper than a weekend away can fix. If you’re dealing with constant anxiety, overwhelm, resentment, or you experienced overwhelm just reading the above paragraph, you may need more support. And that’s not a lack of faith. Emotions are signals, not sins. Counseling is one more way God can bring healing, and it works beautifully alongside prayer and Scripture.
You don’t have to figure this out alone either.
Ready for Support?
If you’re a Christian working mom who is tired, overwhelmed, and ready to experience real rest and healing, I would love to walk alongside you.
Schedule a consultation with me today, and let’s talk about how Christian counseling can help you move from burnout to peace.
