The world has fundamentally changed, have you?
Before COVID-19 was a thing, the pace of life was already becoming unsustainable for many. And for many, COVID-19 has only exacerbated it.
Now that we’ve been forced to live online, many of our normal rhythms are gone forever, and things are never going to go back to “normal.” Hyper-connectivity means we can now work from anywhere at any time and many of us do. Technology is meant to be a tool that serves us, instead, many of us find ourselves in servitude to it. But it’s not just hyper-connectivity that’s our problem; workaholism, over-commitment, and our unsustainable pace have other consequences as well. The result is a lack of spiritual vibrancy, shallow relationships, emotional immaturity, and poor physical health.
I believe rest and fulfillment go hand in hand. And that’s why I believe everyone needs a rhythm of rest.
The School of Hard Knocks
My first bout with burnout happened in 2003 in my late twenties. I was about to leave for a weekend conference, instead, I fell down on the floor, curled up in a ball, and cried like a baby for two hours. What was going on? Burnout, emotional exhaustion, a maybe a mini nervous breakdown. I’m not sure what you call it, but it certainly didn’t feel good.
I hadn’t been paying attention to the signs: anxiety, sleeplessness, and nights I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin. I also felt down and blue a lot of the time which isn’t my normal demeanor. It had been happening for months, but I was so out of touch with myself that I just stuffed it down and kept moving…until I couldn’t anymore.
After the breakdown, I crawled out of the hole slowly.
I didn’t burn out overnight, and I wasn’t going to get better overnight. Over the following months, I learned I had been doing things that were outside of my “sweet spot” or those areas that represent gifts, passions, and strengths (things I’m good at that also bring me joy). I began to learn some new rhythms. One good thing that came out of my burnout was, I now had a built-in indicator. When I started getting beyond my capacity, calling, and giftedness, I would start to grow anxious and knew it was time to pull back.
But the lesson hadn’t gone deep enough. And over the next several years, I continued to dance near the edge of burnout.
In early 2014, it came to a head. At the time, I was a full-time pasto, working part-time at an after-school program for urban youth, and trying to do the most important work of being an attentive husband and intentional father. On top of that, our church was planning an ambitious launch or “grand opening” that required extra work, $35,000, and intense focus. Talk about a recipe for burnout!
It was during this time that the lesson began to go deeper and God began to teach me about Rhythm and Rest. You can read more of the story in my book, Rest Assured: Seven Days to Stillness, Sanity, and the Sabbath You Need.
I also decided to get more serious about what I now call a Rhythm of Rest though I didn’t call it that at the time.
Baby Steps
My first Rhythm of Rest was simple. It looked like this:
- A daily time of prayer and Scripture reading.
- A weekly day of rest
- A semi-annual personal retreat
- Yearly vacation with my family and two other scheduled weeks off
Over the years, I’ve added other components. Now I’m convinced, everyone needs to have a Rhythm of Rest.
Finding Your Own Rhythm
Over the next several posts, I’m going to be sharing a simple plan to help you find your own Rhythm of Rest.
What is a Rhythm of Rest? It’s a written plan that clearly defines your regular rhythms of rest and replenishment: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual rhythms. The goal is to help you live from a place of rest and replenishment and find a sustainable and joyful pace of life so you don’t have to experience burnout as I did.
I guarantee if you put this to practice you will have more energy, fun, joy, physical health, spiritual vibrancy, and emotional wellness.
Missed One?
Check out the other posts in the series:
- Rhythms of Rest 1: “You Are What You Do Daily”
- Rhythms of Rest 2: Why You Need a Weekly Holiday
- Rhythms of Rest 3: How You Can Stay Focused on the Things That Matter Most
- Rhythms of Rest 4: “I Need A Vacation!”
Photo by Daniel Jensen on Unsplash
