We hosted small group tonight. We love our group. I gotta tell you I started the day tired. By the time I finished cleaning and prepping for group, the fatigue caught up with me tonight. I felt bad yawning halfway through the evening.

But our time tonight was worth the work and fatigue.

After our year of two weddings and a baby in 2015, I adopted a motto—

What fills me up also exhausts me.

I’m not being whiny. I’m being real. And it’s okay with me. I am thrilled I have wonderful people and things I am passionate about to spend my life and energy on.

Hosting friends and family.

Taking care of the little boy (grandson).

Helping the kids in their various seasons of life.

Writing to the best of my ability.

And I love the quiet evenings Gene and I have at home.

What fills me up also exhausts me.

My point in all this—there are worse things than being tired and yawning halfway through small group. The worst thing would be to get to the end of my life and still have life in me.

Brenda Garrison is an author and speaker who empowers women with the confidence to live their calling. Brenda is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Ministry Leadership with a Concentration in Women’s Ministry at Moody Bible Institute. She and her husband, Gene, are the parents of three young adult daughters and live near Metamora, IL.