The Radiant Mission
The Radiant Mission
152. When God Speaks in the McDonald's Drive-Thru
Have you ever felt the weight of trying to do it all? That's exactly where I found myself recently—juggling four kids under five, a demanding corporate job, and this podcast while navigating the postpartum journey after my fourth baby.
The first couple months postpartum were actually smooth, but around month three, everything changed. I hit a wall. My body ached, fatigue overwhelmed me, and my nutrition spiraled into a cycle of fast food and processed junk. Despite clear nudges from the Holy Spirit (literally speaking to me in the McDonald's drive-thru!), I kept pushing through on my own strength until I couldn't anymore.
What I've come to recognize is that postpartum isn't just a physical recovery—it's a spiritual battleground. The enemy knows mothers are vulnerable during this season, which explains why postpartum depression, rage, and emotional struggles are so common. I believe he specifically targets those who are working to expose his lies and share God's truth.
The turning point came when I finally stopped suffering in silence. I opened up to my coworkers, made that crucial first step (choosing the grocery store over fast food after our vacation), and implemented an anti-inflammatory diet with regular exercise. I'm already feeling better physically, mentally, and spiritually.
I'm sharing this deeply personal journey because I suspect many of you are in similar situations. The enemy wants us isolated, thinking we're the only ones struggling. Whether you're navigating postpartum, feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities, or just not feeling good in your own body—you are not alone. Remember Matthew 11:28: "Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." Would you pray for me during this season? And if you're going through something similar, know that I'm praying for you too. Let's walk this journey together.
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The hey friends. Welcome back to the Radiant Mission podcast. This is a little bit of a different episode. This is more of a life update and if you've been following along with social media and the Coffee Talk series, you know that I love teaching and I love sharing what God's Word says. But today I just felt the Lord really pressing me to share a little bit about what's been going on in my life as a person. So because I you know, I do think that it's easy for you to hear from me on here and assume that I have it all together, but the truth is I don't, and right now I could, honestly, I could really use your prayers. So I'm going to talk a little bit today about kind of some of those things that I've been going through. If you care to listen to this episode, awesome. If you want to skip to something else, that's more your speed, that's fine too. But I'm kind of the person behind what's going on here and I want to be transparent and honest always so that you guys know kind of what's going on.
Speaker 1:Postpartum is a spiritual battleground and so is doing this podcast. So that's kind of what I want to share with you a little bit. So let's start with postpartum. Yeah, so I really believe that being postpartum is a spiritual battleground. Mothers are especially vulnerable in these months and I believe that the enemy knows this. That is why postpartum depression, postpartum rage and all kinds of other emotional and physical struggles are so common. And for me, the first couple of months after having my last baby were actually really smooth and I had a great postpartum experience. But right around months three so the past two months, months three through five they have been tough Between life's circumstances, work and motherhood I have really been feeling very stretched thin. So let's talk a little bit about the weight of doing it all and what has happened because of this. So you know I'm just being transparent. This is very vulnerable, but here's a little bit of a glimpse into what life has looked like for me lately.
Speaker 1:I work full time at a very high level corporate role with a lot of pressure. I'm blessed. Yes, I work from home. That is truly a blessing. But I am also raising four kids that are ages five and under. I am responsible for planning everything. Now, I love doing this stuff. That's what's hard about it is. I love planning birthdays, I love planning events, vacations, doing it all, but it's a lot and I also have keeping up with the house and the laundry or I don't. And then there's running this podcast. It's planning the episodes, scripting and getting everything ready and doing my research, recording and then editing, setting up everything on the blog, on the actual podcast itself, on YouTube, on social media and really on top of all of this.
Speaker 1:I have not been sleeping much because of it, because it's a lot, right Like this has kind of to be honest with you changed, and giving up sleep has been where I've been able to do it all. I always joke and say that I don't need a lot of sleep and that's my superpower, but guess what? It has caught up to me and I definitely have hit a wall. So that wall has led to some burnout for me, and I also have had some convictions around my lifestyle, what I'm eating, my lack of true exercise. Yeah, I'm running around with the kids, but is that truly enough for what my body needs? In this season, my diet has gone totally downhill and it's a lot of excuses as to why I can't. I just say like I don't want to cook, I don't have time, but somehow we all always find time to do the things that we need to do.
Speaker 1:I guess I could say so yeah, this turned into a lot of fast food, a lot of junk food, and it led to a lot of burnout and, honestly, I was not feeling good physically or mentally, and the Lord was really speaking to me. And one moment that I will never forget I was in the McDonald's drive-thru of all places, and I could hear the Holy Spirit so clearly don't get this. This isn't food. You're going to feel terrible if you eat this. Don't get this. You don't need this. Eat real food. And what did I do? I questioned it. I doubted that I was really hearing from God and I got the food anyway and, sure enough, I felt so sick afterwards I did not feel good and, if that's not enough, I did it again. It happened again the next time I went. I had the same conviction and the same result and eventually I realized that the Lord was telling me it was time to stop ignoring his nudges and start taking care of myself and stop treating fast food like it is actual food, because it's not so.
Speaker 1:When and how did I finally decide to make a change? Well, it actually happened because of work I was asked, or prompted, to make another trip after having just coming back from a work trip, and I just felt totally overwhelmed because I felt like my body was falling apart and my mind was falling apart. I was getting I'm so. I have been so tired in the afternoons and throughout the day my joints have been aching and I was just overwhelmed and in tears and I knew that something had to change. So, instead of suffering in silence or just unloading everything onto my husband, I opened up to my coworkers and I just said hey, I'm struggling and I need to take care of myself. And it was really a simple reminder of how powerful community is and how important it is, because God didn't design us to go through our struggles alone. He gave us the body of Christ and he gave us others for a reason. That said, all of this was happening right as we were about to go on vacation, and so I said to my husband like let's enjoy our trip, but I am making changes. You know, when we get back, this is, this is where my line in the sand is. And so, on the way home from the airport, literally, I had Mike stop at the grocery store and I went in there and I had a recipe in mind that I knew was healthy and we could eat Like we are obviously tired from the plane. It was lunchtime but instead of saying go through McDonald's, I said stop at the grocery store and I got all this ingredients to make this really delicious and healthy salad, and that was the turning point really.
Speaker 1:So since then, which it's not been that long it's a little over a week since we have returned from our trip I started following an anti-inflammatory diet that is all about clean, whole foods. So I have cut out all processed foods, refined sugars, soda pork, fried foods, and I have not been eating red meat either. Now, I'm not necessarily against red meat, but since I'm following this anti-inflammatory protocol, I'm following along to see how I feel, so I may bring in lean cuts of beef at some point. Another thing is my physical, the physical side. I have started walking 30 minutes at a minimum several days a week, and that has helped a lot. I can feel the difference in just throughout the day. And then I also have started taking some supplements that were recommended by my functional medicine doctor, my chiropractor, that are all about supporting postpartum hormones. I am nursing, so my estrogen is going to be lower and my progesterone will be lower because of nursing. Prolactin is higher and I don't think that I'm feeling great because of that balance, for whatever reason. So the stuff I'm taking is supporting my hormones. I also did add in mushroom coffee, everyday dose, mushroom coffee. This is not sponsored, but they have asked me to be an affiliate, so perhaps I will accept that. I haven't been taking it long enough to know if it's helping or anything like that, so I'm just mentioning it.
Speaker 1:Again, this is a transparency life update episode. I do have to say I am already feeling a lot better than I was physically, mentally and spiritually, and I've dropped a few pounds. Obviously, it hasn't been that long and it's not necessarily about that side of things, but I know that the Lord has been speaking to me and telling me you need to take care of yourself. I am a mom of four. I have to take care of these little people and I have a lot of aging family around me and I'm watching the devastating effects of them not caring for themselves. So that is why I feel that I've been called back on this path to health that the Lord has been calling me to. So, all right, why Like? Why does this matter? Why am I sharing this?
Speaker 1:I really was motivated to share this because I feel like a lot of you may be in a similar place. I always tell myself like I'm the only one or like no one can relate to what I'm going through. But that's really probably the enemy, trying to isolate me and make me feel just alone and beat down, because I'm sure there are others out there that feel burned out, overwhelmed. Maybe you're not feeling good in your own body, maybe you're in your post, a postpartum season, or maybe you're just juggling a lot of responsibilities or just kids, and you're feeling like you are drowning too, and I want you to know you are not alone. I am right there with you and even as someone who runs a podcast about exposing the enemy and walking with Christ, I still struggle.
Speaker 1:In fact, I actually believe that because of this podcast and the focus on God and what he's called me to and exposing these lies of the enemy, I feel that I, especially, have been facing a lot of spiritual warfare. The enemy wants to discourage me. He wants me down, tired, so that I'll quit, so that I will stop sharing what I do share here, keep me too exhausted to keep going, but God, god is faithful and he has been gently redirecting me to care for my body and also to listen to his Holy Spirit, who has been nudging me this whole time, and to lean into community. So this is my call to community, to my other sisters in Christ I'm asking you, my listeners and my friends for prayer. Please pray for my strength, for my health, for clarity and wisdom as I'm juggling this season and this podcast, and please pray that I keep leaning into God and not on my own strength. And please pray that I keep leaning into God and not on my own strength.
Speaker 1:And if you have been going through a similar season, I would like to encourage you don't ignore your nudges from the Holy Spirit and don't suffer in silence either. Reach out to me, reach out to your community and lean into God's word and take that first small step back towards your health, even if it's just something small. Make that stop at the grocery store to get something healthy for lunch instead of fast food, whatever it might be, the small things lead to bigger changes. All right, that kind of sums up today's life update. Thank you so much for listening to this. I'm really grateful for you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening and for walking through this journey with me and for being a part of the Radiant Mission community. And if you think of me at all, please lift me up in prayer if you don't mind. And if you're in your own postpartum or burnout season, know that I'll be praying for you too. And if you're not connected outside of the podcast, you can do so. Join me on Instagram at the Radiant Mission, or on Facebook at the Radiant Mission Podcast, and then I also post all of this on YouTube at the Radiant Mission as well, but it is under my name, rebecca Toomey, and my last name is T-W-O-M-E-Y. I always share that part Today. I'm going to close with Matthew 11, 28. Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest, wishing you a radiant week. See you next time.
