12 May 2025 · 6 min
Dr. Marleen Greenleaf reframes healing as strength, not weakness, and argues that rest validates your worth beyond what you produce. She offers a "Rest, Rise, Repeat" rhythm with practices like prayer and journaling, and challenges you to name one area needing healing and schedule time to address it this week.
Hello, my valued listeners, and welcome back to another episode of Living in Your Power. I'm your host, Dr. Marleen Greenleaf, and I am so glad you're here for the second episode in our May series, Rooted in Self-Worth: Healing, Growing, and Rising. Now, last week we opened this journey by honoring the women who nurtured us and reflecting on how we begin to nurture ourselves. This week, I want to go a little bit deeper because part of living in your power is recognizing this truth: healing is growth. It's not a detour from your purpose, but it's part of your rise. And since this is also Mental Health Awareness Month, it's the perfect moment to check in with ourselves Create space for rest and recommit to our well-being, mind, body, and spirit. So today's episode is entitled Healing is Growth: Giving Yourself Permission to Rest and Rise. Now let's take a deep breath and let's begin. Now, we often think of healing as a pause or setback, but let me tell you, healing is growth. Healing is not weakness. It is not laziness. Healing is in fact strength choosing restoration. When you choose to heal your heart after a disappointment, That's growth. When you set a boundary to protect your mental peace, that's growth. When you slow down long enough to grieve, rest, pray, and breathe, you are growing. And here's the beautiful thing: healing prepares you for the blessings you've been praying for. It's not time wasted. It's time invested. One of the biggest obstacles to healing is that we don't give ourselves permission to rest. We've been conditioned to believe that if we're not producing, we're failing. But in reality, even the soil needs seasons of stillness before the harvest. I mean, rest is a divine gift. Rest is an act of faith that says, I trust that I am valuable even when I'm not producing, and I trust that my worth is not tied to my output. And let me be transparent, this is a lesson I'm still learning too. That's giving myself grace to pause, Unplug and just be without guilt. And I want you to know you are allowed to do the same. Healing isn't a one-time event. It's more of a rhythm. Rest, rise, repeat. It's rest, rise, repeat. Repeat. One more time. Rest. Rise. Repeat. Every time you honor your need for healing, whether through prayer, therapy, journaling, solitude, you are watering the seeds of your future. You are rising stronger each time you choose to rest. Don't let the world rush you out of your growth process. You have to trust the slow work of God in your life. Now, here's your challenge for this week. I want you to identify one area where you need to give yourself permission to heal. Is it emotional, physical, spiritual, relational? I want you to write it down, speak it out loud, and honor it. And then I want you to schedule one restorative act for yourself this week, whether that's an early bedtime, a quiet prayer walk, A digital detox, or a moment of gratitude journaling. Healing isn't selfish. Healing is your pathway to greater purpose. So as we continue on this month's journey together, I want you to remember that healing is holy. Healing is strength. Healing is growth. You don't have to earn your rest. You don't have to justify your healing. You simply have to receive it with open hands and an open heart. So until next time, my valued listeners, I want you to live boldly in your power. And if it gets tough, just breathe. You still have the strength to rise. So let's heal, grow, and rise together in this month of May. Continue to live in your power.
