Dr. Nanette Floyd Patterson, LCMHC

You share your heart, only to be met with “You’re overreacting,” or “Just pray about it and move on.” It stings, doesn’t it?

I was in line at the store, growing frustrated as the cashier moved at a painfully slow pace. My mind filled in the blanks—maybe she didn’t care about her job, maybe she was just being careless. But then I overheard her whisper to a coworker, “I just lost my mom last night.”

Ever feel like life is constantly pulling at you from all directions? Between responsibilities, obligations, and the endless demands of others, it’s easy to feel drained, distracted, and even depleted. But here’s the truth: God has entrusted you with five powerful resources—your Time, Energy, Attention, Mind, and Money (T.E.A.M.M.)—and it’s your responsibility to protect them. Unlike popular belief, you do have a part to play.

A few years ago, I was searching for a book on people-pleasing and ran across When People Are Big and God Is Small by Edward Welch. The title alone stopped me in my tracks. I immediately felt I needed to ask God for forgiveness if I had ever made people larger than Him. I felt this conviction before I even opened the book.

Want to know one of the most common patterns I see in my Christian clients that’s stealing their peace? It’s people-pleasing disguised as godly service.

How many of these thoughts sound familiar? As a Christian therapist, I hear these phrases constantly from women in my practice. We’ve somehow convinced ourselves that pushing through our emotions is the “godly” thing to do.