Faith, Cortisol & the Gift of Rest 🦋

Faith, Cortisol & the Gift of Rest 🦋

📖 “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

There was a season, one etched so clearly in my heart, when rest felt impossible.

Back then, we were walking through some of the hardest days of Chloe’s mental health journey. I remember lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling, praying over her room, listening for movement, holding my breath through the quiet.

My body was exhausted, but my mind wouldn’t stop.
Every sound made my heart race. Every bit of silence felt like fear.
I was running on adrenaline and prayer and even though I trusted God with my words, my body hadn’t yet learned to let go.

That’s the part I wrote about in Warrior Mom Rising, the nights when surrender wasn’t peaceful, it was desperate.
The nights when faith meant unclenching my fists and whispering, “She’s Yours, God.”

And it was in those sleepless nights that I learned something I carry with me into every part of my work today:
🔥 You can’t heal physically, emotionally, or spiritually when your body is stuck in survival mode.

🩷 When Faith and Physiology Collide

I spent so long trying to pray away my anxiety, only to realize that my body was still living in the trauma.

God created us as WHOLE beings mind, body, and spirit.
When one part is overwhelmed, the others feel it too!!

That’s why faith and physiology must work hand in hand.
Your nervous system doesn’t know the difference between a tiger chasing you or a thousand anxious thoughts running wild in your head. To your body, stress is stress and cortisol, your stress hormone, is the first responder.

But when cortisol stays high for too long, it begins to steal your peace, your sleep, and your sense of safety.

You’re not weak for feeling anxious or exhausted, your body is doing exactly what it was designed to do: protect you.
But protection mode isn’t meant to be permanent!

Cortisol, Sleep & The Science of Stillness 🦋

For years, I thought exhaustion was just part of motherhood.
Late nights, early mornings, and the constant weight of worrying about everyone else. I told myself, “This is just what moms do.”

But when I began studying functional/integrative medicine, I realized what my body had been trying to tell me all along.
I wasn’t lazy. I wasn’t broken.
My nervous system was stuck in overdrive.

When your body lives under constant pressure, juggling work, family, responsibilities, fear, or grief, your cortisol levels stay elevated. Cortisol isn’t bad; it’s the hormone that helps you handle stress.
But when it stays high for too long, it confuses your body.

Your brain hears:
🚨 We’re not safe.
🚨 Stay alert.
🚨 Don’t rest.

And that’s when the REAL battle begins.
You crawl into bed exhausted but wired.
You fall asleep only to wake at 2 or 3 a.m. with your mind racing.
You start believing that peace just isn’t possible for you anymore.

But God didn’t design our bodies to live in survival mode.

You see, stillness isn’t just a spiritual posture, it’s biological.
When you slow down, breathe deeply, and invite peace, your nervous system listens.
Your body shifts out of fight or flight and into rest and repair.

That’s the moment when healing begins.

Physically, cortisol drops.
Melatonin (your sleep hormone) finally rises.
Your brain clears toxins, balances hormones, and rebuilds strength.
Spiritually, your soul exhales because you’ve stopped striving and started trusting.

That’s the science of stillness the way God wired your body to partner with His peace.

He never asked you to hustle for healing.
He asked you to be still and trust Him to restore what’s been worn down.

📖 “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8

🩷 Faith Meets Function, Restoring the Body God Designed

As I began learning to slow down and truly listen to my body, I realized that healing wasn’t just about faith, it was about stewardship.

God gave us incredible bodies capable of restoring and rebuilding when given the RIGHT tools. That’s what drives my passion for functional and integrative medicine, finding the root cause of imbalance and helping people live out the health God designed for them.

One of those tools I’ve come to love is a natural peptide blend called Restore created to help calm cortisol, improve deep sleep, and bring your body back to balance.

It’s not a magic fix, but it’s a way to help your body do what God designed it to do: rest, repair, and restore.

Check out this link for more INFO on ALL NATURAL PEPTIDES that I use EVERYDAY!
⭐️ https://makewellness.com/781435E2CD

Because faith and physiology aren’t meant to be separate, they’re meant to support one another!!

When I look back at those long, sleepless nights, I see now how God was there the entire time not just working in Chloe’s healing, but in mine.

He was teaching me to trust Him with what I couldn’t control and to honor the body He gave me.

If you’re in that place tired, anxious, running on empty, hear me:
You are not broken. You are not failing.
You’re human.

And God still meets you here.

💜 “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Because stillness heals what striving never can. 💜

🔥 Warrior Mom Truth

Warrior Moms fight hard, love deeply, and pray constantly, but the real victory comes when we let God fight beside us. Rest isn’t retreating; it’s recharging for the purpose He’s placed within you.
The world teaches us to push harder.
God teaches us to be still.
That’s the difference between burnout and breakthrough.

A true Warrior Mom doesn’t just fight, she learns when to BE STILL.
Because even warriors need rest. And rest is where God restores your strength for the next battle. 🦋

With grit and grace,
🩷 Jenn/Warrior Mom

🩷 Save this for the days you need to remember who you are.
🩷 Share it with another mom who needs to be reminded she’s not alone in the fight.

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💡 Want to go deeper?
I recently released a brand-new Warrior Mom Bundle: my Warrior Mom Rising eBook + a 30-Day Devotional designed to encourage, equip, and remind you that you’re NOT alone in this journey.

For a special launch price, you can grab both resources and start building your own rhythm of strength, advocacy, and faith-filled peace, one day at a time.

👉 https://warriormomcoach.net/book-devo

P.S. If you’re looking for some of my favorite resources, books, and tools that have encouraged me on this journey, you can check out my Warrior Mom Amazon Storefront, I’ve curated it just for you. Link: https://amzn.to/4mHSHLy

Come hang with us in the Warrior Mom Facebook group. It is a space where we remind each other that we’re not machines. We’re moms. We are Warrior Moms. And we need rest too.
FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16faoff9Rn/

🩷 Stay tuned for ALL my NEW podcast episode releases.

👉 If this resonates with you, I share more of our story in my book, Warrior Mom Rising, a battle plan of faith, grit, and advocacy for moms walking through hard seasons.

Book (Amazon) Link: https://a.co/d/f2WC1Ra