Held by Dr. Sage Adessi: Finding Strength With God When Life Feels Heavy

A faith-centered companion for women seeking joy, peace and strength with God while carrying more than most people realize.

Some women become so accustomed to being strong that they no longer recognize how much they are carrying.

They keep showing up.

They care for their families, support the people around them, fulfil their responsibilities and continue trusting God. From the outside, they may appear steady. Inside, however, they may feel tired, overwhelmed, unseen or unsure how much longer they can keep going this way.

Held: How to Find Joy, Peace, and Strength with God When Life Feels Heavy by Dr. Sage Adessi was written for that woman.

It is an explicitly Christian companion for difficult seasons—one that makes room for Scripture, honest prayer, emotional truth and practical spiritual reflection without asking the reader to pretend everything is fine.

You Can Trust God and Still Feel Tired

Emotional exhaustion is not automatic evidence of weak faith.

A woman can love God and still feel overwhelmed. She can be grateful for her life and still admit that parts of it hurt. She can believe in prayer and still struggle to find the words. She can be the person others depend on and still need somewhere safe to lay down what she has been carrying.

Held begins from that honest place.

It does not present pain as a spiritual failure or pressure the reader to hurry toward a polished testimony. Instead, it offers space to acknowledge what is happening, bring it before God and begin moving toward peace without denying the reality of the present season.

Who Held Was Written For

This book may speak to the woman who:

• Feels spiritually and emotionally weary from always being the strong one
• Keeps saying “I’m fine” because explaining the truth feels exhausting
• Is carrying grief, stress, family concerns or unanswered prayer
• Feels responsible for everyone but rarely feels supported herself
• Wants to return to prayer but does not know what to say
• Needs reassurance that honest pain is not the same as weak faith
• Wants Scripture and God at the centre of her healing journey
• Is looking for a gentle, practical place to begin

She may not need another person telling her to think positively, try harder or be more grateful.

She may need permission to stop performing strength long enough to receive it.

What Kind of Book Is Held?

Held brings together Christian faith, emotional reflection and practical spiritual exercises for women moving through heavy seasons.

Its purpose is not to offer a loud promise that every problem will disappear. It is to help the reader become more honest about what she is experiencing while remembering that she does not face it outside the presence of God.

The journey includes themes such as:

• Acknowledging pain without shame
• Becoming present with God
• Recognizing lies and returning to truth
• Practising stillness
• Releasing burdens that have become too heavy
• Using music as part of emotional and spiritual reflection
• Rediscovering childlike faith
• Practising gratitude without denying pain
• Creating personal sources of comfort and steadiness
• Continuing toward joy one faithful step at a time

The book offers the reader language for feelings she may have struggled to explain, followed by reflection and practices she can bring into daily life.

Faith Does Not Require Pretending

One of the most important messages within Held is that faith and honesty belong together.

Sometimes women believe they must hide their exhaustion because other people depend on them. Sometimes they worry that admitting fear, anger, grief or disappointment will make them appear ungrateful. Sometimes even prayer begins to feel like another place where they are expected to say the right thing.

But God does not require a performance before offering His presence.

God, this is what hurts.

This is what I do not understand.

This is what I cannot carry by myself.

Please meet me here.

That may not resolve the entire situation. It does, however, create an honest beginning.

Held invites women to bring their real condition before God rather than waiting until they can present a stronger version of themselves.

What It Means to Be Held by God

Being held does not necessarily mean every burden immediately disappears.

It can mean recognizing that you were never expected to carry every burden alone. It can mean resting without believing you have failed. It can mean accepting help. It can mean returning to Scripture when your own thoughts no longer feel steady. It can mean praying a few honest words instead of forcing a long and polished prayer. It can mean allowing peace to enter before the circumstances have completely changed.

The woman reading Held is not asked to deny her pain. She is invited to discover that pain does not place her beyond the reach of God’s care.

A Gentle Reading Experience for a Heavy Season

A woman in an emotionally difficult season may have limited concentration, energy or patience for complicated advice.

She may not be ready to redesign her entire life. She may only be ready to read a few pages, sit with one question or practise one small act of release.

That is still movement.

Held is best approached as a companion rather than another assignment to complete. A reader can move slowly, return to the sections that speak most clearly to her present need and give herself permission to pause when reflection becomes emotionally demanding.

The goal is not to finish quickly. The goal is to make enough room to receive what she needs.

This May Also Be a Meaningful Gift

Held may be suitable for a Christian woman you love who is going through a difficult season.

The way the book is offered matters.

“I know you have been carrying a lot. You do not have to explain anything to me, but I wanted you to have something that might bring you comfort when you are ready.”

A gift should reduce pressure, not create another obligation.

Allow her to decide when—or whether—she wants to read it. The most meaningful part of the gesture may be the message that someone sees what she has been carrying.

About Dr. Sage Adessi

Dr. Sage Adessi’s work brings emotional resilience, practical reflection and faith-centered encouragement into language women can use when life feels heavy.

Her approach does not rely on shallow positivity or deny the complexity of difficult emotions. Instead, she helps women name what they are experiencing, find a manageable starting point and move toward greater peace with honesty and compassion.

In Held, that work is placed explicitly within a Christian journey centred on Scripture, prayer and strength with God.

Why This Book Matters to Jack Righteous

My connection to the women this book serves is personal.

Both of my grandmothers helped establish programs within their churches. They did more than attend services. They organized, served and built places where other people could belong.

My mother carried that commitment into the second half of her own career by working for the church and investing her time in service to others.

Because of them, I grew up seeing the strength of Christian women—the women who support families, churches and communities, often without drawing attention to what their service costs them.

I also understand that the women everyone calls strong may still need someone to recognize when strength has become heavy.

That is why I wanted to help bring Dr. Sage’s work to the women most likely to need it.

Continue With Free Support

Not sure whether you are ready for the book? Begin with the free Dr. Sage resources. These reflections help women name emotional exhaustion, return to honest prayer, receive support and move forward without pretending the difficult season never happened.

Explore Dr. Sage Adessi’s books and free support resources

A Final Word for the Woman Who Is Tired

You may have survived by becoming the strong one.

That strength has carried you through responsibilities, disappointments and seasons other people may never fully understand.

But strength is not measured by how long you can suffer without support.

Faith is not measured by how convincingly you can say you are fine.

And receiving care does not erase the courage it took to come this far.

Sometimes the next act of faith is not carrying more.

Sometimes it is allowing yourself to be held.