The Sick and Tired Moment That Changed Everything
It was 2010, and I had my sick and tired moment. I was tired of keeping up with the Joneses financially, but I was also tired of keeping up with everyone else’s expectations in every other part of life. I was tired of buying things I did not need to impress people. I was tired of living like I had to be “on” all the time, chasing bigger spaces, nicer cars, and a schedule that looked full instead of intentional. I was done. I did not want to live the way the world told me to live. I wanted to write my own story.
I had been in a work environment where my ‘boss’ took the sotry someone else had said and yelled at me for probably an hour on a friday after 5 pm. even after i said I didn’t say that. I can still see myself sitting in the chair in her office and just listening to her rant on and at the end of it I just said okay and walked away. It wasn’t worth fighting but it was the moment that was pivtaal in my life. I ended up quitting the job and the woman never apologized even when she found out the truth all she said “was you took a lot of crap for someone else”. I had been laid off from my previous job because of reduction in force, and that would happen 3 more times and almost a fourth before I gave my notice about a week early. For years, I lived paycheck to paycheck because I felt like I needed to live in the right neighborhood, wear designer labels, go to the nicest restaurants, and always be ready for a splurge trip. I found myself in debt more than once before I finally decided that debt was not the life for me. If living in debt and using all the money I had was the way I was supposed to live, I did not want it anymore.
It is more than money, but money was the first mirror that showed me how much I was trying to keep up. I started asking the same question in other areas of life:
Is being constantly online, scrolling, and comparing worth what it costs my attention and my peace?
Are perfect feeds and highlight reels really more valuable than quiet family meals and real conversations?
Is filling every hour with organized sports and activities better than simple family adventures, long walks, and time together?
Is rest and time with God less important than performance, productivity, and being “busy enough”?
I realized something that felt radical but simple: what the world calls normal will never be better than what God is inviting me into. A life centered on Jesus, mornings in the Word, family adventures, and real connection is greater than a life centered on screens, applause, and a crowded calendar.
I am learning — slowly — that church matters, rest matters, and starting my day with God matters more than keeping up with trends. I am learning that taking up less space online can actually free up more space for real life at home. I am learning that organized sports are great, but they are not worth losing our family, our rhythm, and our joy.
This is not a perfect life. But it is a more intentional one. I still wrestle with screens, with productivity, and with the pressure to perform. But I am choosing to live differently. I am choosing to say that counter‑culture of love, rest, Scripture, and family is better than the world.
