You Can’t Spell RESTORE Without REST: mental health and faith combined

There’s a phrase that’s been sitting with me lately: “You can’t spell RESTORE without REST.” How does mental health and faith combine? Let me Tell you...

It’s simple but true, especially in the world we live in today. We are constantly scrolling, striving, hustling, and doing. We’re going to school, raising children, building careers, showing up for others. And somewhere in the midst of all that, we forget to check in with ourselves.

We forget to rest.

But restoration doesn’t come after we push through. It begins with rest.

Even Jesus Rested

It’s easy to feel like we have to be on all the time, especially if you’re a parent, working, a helper, or someone who carries others in their healing. I know this intimately. I’m in the thick of raising three little ones that I homeschool. I run a private practice. I’m a wife, a mom, and a therapist. It’s a calling I love, but I cannot do it well without rest.

Sometimes, we think Jesus didn’t rest. The last three years of His ministry were full of people pulling on Him, needing healing, asking questions, and longing to be seen. But even Jesus, the Savior of the world, stepped away to rest.

He did it so He could come back with patience, compassion, and clarity. He did it so He could show up for His people. He understands the feeling of being stretched thin, of human exhaustion. That’s the beauty of the incarnation, Jesus became human, so He understands us.

The Shepherd Who Makes Us Lie Down

I’ve always loved the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Psalm 23 paints such a peaceful picture:

"The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul."

A shepherd’s job is to guide, protect, and ensure the safety and well-being of the sheep. Sometimes that means the shepherd actually has to make the sheep lie down because they don’t know when to stop and rest.

Sound familiar? This is how faith and mental health co-exist.

Jesus does this for us, too. He lovingly leads us to stillness, not to punish us or hold us back, but to restore our souls. Because He knows that without rest, we can’t do the things He’s called us to do, not well, not with peace.

We Weren’t Made for Constant Hustle

Our culture has convinced us that rest is earned. That if we’re not building, achieving, and producing something 24/7, then we’re somehow failing. But that’s not God’s way.

God promised us an abundant life. Not necessarily one filled with luxury, vacations, or picture-perfect families, but one overflowing with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, the fruit of the Spirit.

That kind of life doesn't come from endless doing. It comes from being deeply connected to the Father, through rest, through stillness, through relationship.

God's Goodness Is Following You—Even Now

There’s this quiet urgency to slow down. To see God’s goodness in the ordinary: Your child’s laughter. The warmth of the sun on your face. The way water feels when you swim. The peace that comes when you pause and breathe.

God’s goodness isn’t waiting for you on the other side of achievement. It’s following you right now—in the healing, in the tired, in the hard. It’s here in your becoming.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” —Psalm 23:6

Not just on your best days. Not just when the to-do list is done. But all the days.

How I Rest (And Why You’ll See Me Do It)

I’ve come to realize that if I’m going to be the wife, mom, and therapist God’s called me to be, I need rhythms of rest. So yes, you’ll see me pause. You’ll see me pray. You’ll see me outside, laughing, reading, breathing deeply. You’ll see me with my Bible open. You'll see me rest. Because I have to. Because I want and need to. Because when I rest, He restores me. We all need restoration.

At Stone to Bloom Counselling...

I hold space for people in all stages of healing, those walking through anxiety, trauma, grief, parenting struggles, identity questions, and burnout. It’s sacred work. And I know that restoration doesn’t happen overnight. It happens little by little, with gentleness and care.

Here’s how I walk with you at Stone to Bloom:

• Trauma-Informed Therapy – Safe, compassionate support as you untangle the impact of your story.

• Faith-Based Counselling – For those who want to invite God into the healing process.

• Parenting & Motherhood Support – Space to process the real and often overwhelming parts of parenting.

• Burnout & Rest Coaching – Helping you rediscover your worth beyond what you do.

• Holistic Healing – Exploring how nature, rhythm, creativity, and embodiment help us heal.

You don’t have to hustle your way into healing. You don’t have to earn restoration. You just have to receive it.

Let Jesus be your Shepherd. Let Him lead you beside still waters. Let Him restore your soul.

And don’t forget: You can’t spell RESTORE without REST.

With gentleness and grace,

Anna Nelson, Founder & Therapist, Stone to Bloom Counselling