God may be calling you to be ‘unuseful’, your identity isn’t in your busyness

When Jami Nato was called to a season of rest she felt unsettled, but God was preparing her for what was to come.

I hit the trail too late in the day. If there was a trophy for underboob sweat, I would win. I don’t even try to hide it with black tank tops any more. It’s just me and a grey top, sweat dripping, visible panty line showing, tearing up the trails mile by mile. I guess this is what aging feels like; you stop caring what people will think of the walking sauna they just passed.

As the sun beat down, I wondered about God’s provision for me this year. I didn’t have any projects, nothing new, and it felt strange. Disorienting to just be. In a meeting earlier in the day, we had talked about identity. I can get identity through doing lots of things all the time, busy creating. To not have that, to have only the small things, to not be so “useful” all the time. My pastor said I was just as valuable and that God talks a lot about the hidden places. The places where no one can measure my success.