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Nourishing Her Midlife Rest: Body & Soul is a podcast for Christian women in their 40s and 50s navigating perimenopause, hormone shifts, exhaustion, burnout, and the changing rhythms of midlife.
Hosted by Bethany Thomson, Registered Dietitian, functional nutritionist, and Christian life coach, this podcast blends functional nutrition, hormone health, whole-person wellness, and grace-filled encouragement to support women in body and soul.
Some episodes are practical and educational—covering topics like perimenopause, hormones, fatigue, inflammation, nervous system support, digestion, stress, and nourishment in midlife.
Others are more reflective and restorative, offering gentle conversations about rest, emotional healing, caregiving, faith, identity, and learning to live with greater steadiness and compassion in seasons of overwhelm.
Whether you feel exhausted, disconnected from yourself, stuck in survival mode, or simply weary from carrying too much for too long, there is space for you here.
Together, we’ll explore a gentler path toward nourishment, steadiness, and rest—body and soul.
Learn more at:
www.ingrainedliving.com
This reflection is for the parts of your story that don’t feel very “festive”—
the places we often feel we should tidy up before the holidays,
but are still deeply human.
I had such good intentions for Advent this year.
I imagined a quieter season.
More space.
More peace.
A gentle slowing as we prepared our hearts for Christmas.
And instead… it’s been full.
Full of managing nagging coughs that just wouldn’t go away.
Sleepless nights with sick kids.
Urgent care visits for random accidents.
And the steady hum of tying up all the loose ends that seem to demand attention before the year closes.
And I know I’m not the only one.
So many women I talk with are arriving at Christmas tired—not because they did something wrong,
but because life simply asked a lot of them.
So many women feel an unspoken pressure at Christmas—
a sense that it’s our responsibility to make it meaningful, beautiful, memorable.
To hold the traditions, the emotions, the expectations.
And when we’re already stretched thin,
that weight can feel heavy in ways we don’t always name.
This year, I felt that weariness not just emotionally, but physically.
This year, I felt that weariness not just emotionally, but physically.
After a virus, my body took longer to recover than I expected.
There was a deep weakness in my limbs.
A need for far more rest and sleep than I’m used to—even after being sick.
And it humbled me.
It reminded me that being human is not just about time constraints or full schedules.
It’s about frailty.
About limitation.
About needing care.
And in that place, this truth from John 1 kept returning to me:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.”
I’ve heard that verse my whole life.
But this year, one phrase resonated deeply.
He dwelt among us.
Not visited.
Not hovered above.
Not waited until things were calm.
He dwelt.
Which means He stayed.
Lived here.
Entered fully into the rhythms and disruptions of human life.
And I find myself wondering—what was that like?
What was it like for the eternal Word, the glorious One who existed before time,
to be clothed in frail humanity?
To live in a body that could tire.
That could ache.
That could need rest.
He did not come into strength alone.
He entered vulnerability.
Weakness.
Dependence.
He came into a world that was already messy,
already weary,
already longing for relief.
Christmas reminds us that God did not wait for humanity to become peaceful before drawing near.
He came into the chaos.
Into the interruptions.
Into bodies that get sick and souls that feel worn thin.
And still—this is where glory showed up.
Not in perfection.
Not in control.
But in presence.
The Word became flesh and dwelt here.
Among sick kids and sleepless nights.
Among interrupted plans and unfinished lists.
Among shifting hormones and dragging energy.
Among bodies that need more care than we wish they did.
And still—we behold His glory.
Not because everything feels beautiful,
but because He is here.
If your Advent didn’t look the way you hoped—
If you feel like you’re crashing into Christmas instead of arriving peacefully—
I want you to hear this clearly:
You are not doing it wrong.
This season was never about performing peace.
It was about receiving presence.
Sometimes rest looks like quiet candlelight and reflection.
And sometimes it looks like being held by God in the middle of what is loud, messy, and unfinished.
The Word did not become flesh to stand at a distance.
He came clothed in frail humanity,
to dwell with us right here.
Even now.
Even this.
So as these days unfold, my hope for you is simple.
That you would feel permission to soften.
To release what didn’t happen.
To stop measuring this season by how peaceful it felt.
And instead, to trust that even here, you are met with grace.
The Word became flesh.
And He is not afraid to dwell with you.
I’ll be back in the new year.
Until then—be gentle with yourself.
This is Bethany.
You’ve been listening to Nourishing Her Midlife Rest.
May you and yours share a truly joyful Christmas.