the quiet panic of rehearsing a simple sentence in your head before saying it, terrified that a slip in your voice will betray the exhaustion you are hiding

You Are Only Required to Be Here

The sun is up, but you are still rehearsing the sentence in your head, terrified that a crack in your voice will give away the night you just survived. You stand at the threshold of the day, holding your breath, convinced that if you slip, everyone will see the exhaustion you are hiding behind the mask.

But the light that rises now does not demand a performance; it simply arrives, quiet and steady, regardless of how tired you are. You do not have to get your words perfect before you speak them.

The One who walks beside you already knows the weight you carry before you say a single syllable. You are not required to be strong this morning; you are only required to be here.

Drawing from

Matthew, Gospel of Thomas

Verses

Matthew 11:28

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