Today I had the honor of leading a friends Pilates class, something I never take lightly. And like always, we began with breath work. Inhaling intention, exhaling tension. But this morning, I invited the group to shift their perspective.

Instead of simply choosing an intention, I asked everyone to think about someone they know who cannot move their body. Someone who would give anything to stretch, bend, breathe deeply, or feel their muscles shake mid hold. Then I asked them to be grateful that they could move, even when it burns, even when it is uncomfortable, even when they feel tired.

That is the quiet brilliance of reframing.

It is subtle. It is gentle. But it has the power to shift everything.

Reframing does not invalidate exhaustion.

It does not romanticize struggle.

It simply invites us to look at our lives from another angle, one that reveals what is still beautiful, still meaningful, and still worth appreciating.

As we approach Thanksgiving, a season centered around gratitude, this practice feels more important than ever. Especially because, honestly, I have been tired this month. Deeply tired. The kind of tired that settles into your shoulders and your spirit. Tired from doing, tired from becoming, tired from stretching in all the ways my purpose is calling me to.

But even in that tiredness, I have been reminding myself how blessed I am.

I have to pause and acknowledge the fact that I am living on my own. That I am putting myself through grad school. That I am balancing life, work, growth, ambition, healing, and dreams all at the same time. At first, I was tired and avoiding projects. I did not want to write, study, plan, or push forward. Until I stopped and reframed my thinking:

I get to do this. I prayed for this. God trusted me with this.

That shift alone changed how I showed up.

And I want this blog to be a soft landing for anyone who feels the same.

This is for the tired moms dragging themselves through the evening routine. Parenting, especially coming home to a baby who needs you the moment you walk in the door, is physically and emotionally draining. But what a blessing it is to be tired from caring for a healthy child. Some people long for children and never get that chance.

This is for the single parents holding down both roles, pouring out love, energy, structure, and stability with no one to tag in.

This is for the millennials working to provide, to survive, and to break generational patterns all at once. Healing is exhausting. Becoming is exhausting. But it is meaningful work.

This is for the people who are tired from doing what they love, building, creating, serving, teaching, leading. Someone dreams of having the job you sometimes dread. Someone is praying for the opportunity you feel overwhelmed by.

Your tired is real, but so is your blessing.

Your exhaustion does not discredit your gratitude. They can exist together without canceling each other out.

Reframing is not about pretending everything is perfect.

It is about being able to say:

I am tired, and I am grateful for what got me here.

This Thanksgiving, I invite you to sit with this question:

What am I grateful to be exhausted from

What responsibilities honor my growth

What opportunities stretch me because they matter

What dreams am I living today that once felt out of reach

Let this reflection soften you.

Let it ground you.

Let it remind you that rest is also gratitude, a way of honoring your blessings, your purpose, and your journey.

Take a breath.

Move with intention.

Be proud of yourself.

And when you are tired, let gratitude reframe the moment into something sacred.