How are you … no really, how are you?

If you’re anything like me, your automatic response is usually a cheerful, quick, “Fine, thanks! Busy, but good!”—delivered at speed while balancing three carrier bags, a sheaf of committee notes, and a mental tally of who needs a pastoral call before tea.

As Methodist women, our default setting is checking in on everyone else. For generations – from the pioneering days of Women’s Work and the Women’s Fellowship right through to our active presence today in Methodist Women in Britain (MWiB)—we have been a community built on compassionate, practical action. We campaign for global social justice, support international partners, resource local groups, and foster creative spirituality. We are magnificent at getting things done, usually with a fair-trade tea bag in one hand and a clipboard in the other.

Yet as we step into this new year, we align ourselves with the World Federation (WFMUCW) and the grand theme: “Arise and Shine”, a theme we experienced the better part of this year.

It’s a magnificent, inspiring motto – until you remember that “arising” after a long week of church meetings can make your knees crack, and “shining” feels remarkably difficult when you’re running on three hours of sleep and half a packet of digestive biscuits.

Before we interpret “Arise and Shine” as a command to launch six new projects before breakfast, let’s look closer at Scripture. Isaiah 60:1 says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” Notice the order! It doesn’t say “Generate your own light through sheer willpower and endless busyness.” The light comes from God. Our job isn’t to be the sun; our job is simply to tilt our faces toward the warmth so we can reflect it.

I was reminded of this deep, radiant truth when I had the absolute joy and blessing of joining sisters from around the globe in rich fellowship at the 15th World Assembly in New Zealand. What an extraordinary gift it was to worship together, to share our stories and to feel the vast, beating heart of our global Methodist family. During our time there, the local sisters in New Zealand taught us a phrase that has stayed in my heart ever since:

That peace isn’t frantic, nor is it earned through overwork. Even the Prophet Elijah had to learn this the hard way. When he collapsed under a broom bush, utterly exhausted, God didn’t give him an urgent task list. An angel brought him fresh bread, a jar of water and told him to go back to sleep (1 Kings 19:5-7). God’s prescription for spiritual burnout was literally a snack and a nap!

Holistic wellness – caring for our bodies, minds, and spirits – is deeply Methodist. Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles, managed a household of nineteen children while teaching, writing and organising. When the noise became too much, she simply pulled her apron over her head. That homemade tent was her sanctuaryn – a boundary line signalling to the entire house, “Do not disturb; mother is resting in the Lord.”

Susanna knew you cannot shine if your inner pilot light has gone out. As Charles Wesley so fittingly wrote:

Notice he asks God to kindle the flame—not to burn the altar to the ground with exhaustion!

So, dear sisters, here is my challenge for the coming year:

Keep doing the glorious, transformative work you do in your part of the world. But this year, I challenge you to practice the holy art of stepping back to replenish. Before you say “yes” to another job, check your own battery level. When the pressure mounts, take a cue from Susanna: drop the clipboard, throw the metaphorical apron over your head and drink deeply from the well of God’s grace.

Let us arise with joy and shine with steady, healthy light – because the world doesn’t need burnt-out candles. It needs women who are well, sustained and glowing with the quiet, restful peace of Christ.

Olive Ruvimbo Ruzvidzo

National Chair