Rest is Spiritual Warfare

Soft Return Reflection

Over a thousand of you found resonance in my note about rest being spiritual warfare.
Today, I want to tell you where that note came from—
the moment that stirred it,
and the truth that’s been unfolding since.

A Few Months Ago

I was invited to speak at the EmpowerHER conference hosted by the Columbus (OH) Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

Like most mornings, I woke before the sun and began my rest ritual—
candle lit,
coffee poured,
journal open.

This ritual is sacred.
It is where I listen.
Where I wait for the whisper—
for what I am meant to say,
for what Black women need to hear in this season.

Sometimes I write.
Sometimes I simply sit in stillness.
Because sometimes communion with the Holy Spirit is about waiting.
It’s about listening.
It’s about patience.

On this morning, I heard the whisper.
I received the message.

Every woman in the room will need the pause and three deep breaths.
But only a few will hear the sacred call in. For Black women, rest is spiritual warfare.

It is how we fight without lifting a sword. How we reclaim what the world tried to steal—
our breath,
our dreams,
our time,
and our connection to who we were created to be.

Black women are being called, prepared, and tuned for something with great purpose. It’s deeply spiritual.

I carried those words to the stage, standing before more than 100 Black women.
I spoke from the deepest truth I knew.

And when it was over, as I was getting ready to leave, a woman touched my shoulder.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For putting into words what I’ve been feeling for some time now.”

That moment stayed with me.
It was confirmation—
that rest is spiritual warfare for Black women.

And only a few will understand the importance of this message.
Some will not be able to hear it at all.

I have been slowing down, learning to discover myself and my gifts.
I have been reconnecting with my personal power, my divinity.

Over the past few months, I’ve been moving through the same Soft Return I invite you into. I’ve walked this path before with somatics and breathwork, but this time, I’m journeying with my polarity coach, Suzanne.

In our last two sessions, we’ve been talking about a shift.
One we can both feel.

This is what we know:
The time is urgent.
The time for Black women to rest is now.

That work has been a mirror, a guide, a reminder—
that rest is not something outside of us.
It is not a goal to reach or a state to earn.

It is who we are.
We are rest. Rest is a state of being. It resides inside of us. We only need to remember and return.

That knowing has shifted my work in ways I cannot fully name.

Maybe you have felt it too—
this quiet undercurrent.
A sense that something is coming.
That something is shifting.

A quiet nudge that says, Pay attention.

Not everyone will feel it. Not everyone will hear it.
But when you do—
you’ll know.

It will settle into you like an answer you’ve been waiting for:
Yes. This is it. This is what I’ve been sensing.

Rest is for all Black women. We all need to lay our weary bodies down.
But this moment—
this urgency—
is a sacred call in.

Do you hear the call, sister?

Gentle Reflection

• What part of you already understands this message?

• Where have you been feeling the urgency?

• How might your rest become part of this sacred call?

Somatic Cue
Slow down.
Notice your feet on the ground.
Take three slow breaths.
Pause at the bottom of the last breath and whisper: I am answering the call.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1578326530139?aff=oddtdtcreator

We imagine by beginning in community.
We imagine by receiving and offering radical care. ~Tricia Hersey

If you’ve been feeling the shift, or if you’ve heard the call—and you know that rest is spiritual warfare—come join me in community with other Black women reimagining the power of rest.

Black Women Reimagining Rest is a 2-hour virtual healing experience and spiritual call-in for those ready to lay down the lie of endless endurance, tend to the wounds of racialized trauma, and return to the body as a place of belonging and power. Through somatic healing, nervous system care, breathwork, and sacred rest, we will remember who we are and ready ourselves for what is coming next.

Rest is not an escape.
Rest is preparation and a return.
It is how we fight without losing our souls.

✨ Come rest. Come remember. Register here

This work is sustained by the community. If this spoke to your spirit, I welcome your support.🫶🏾