I Quit!!!!

As the new calendar year begins, another phenomenon begins as well. It is the pattern of circling back to those things we put off at the end of last  year. It’s as if we put our tasks on layaway along with our holiday gifts and now the payment is due. We begin the year with last year’s debt. This is a problem. Some of our to-do lists are never ending and they roll over into the next day, week, month and year as well. No wonder January 10th is national quitting day! The work did not begin on January 1. It carried over from the prior year. We get our new planners, our new calendars, our new apps and make grand attempts to manage our time and ourselves. What if there’s a better way? What if we began the new year with a new habit? I want to suggest to us that beginning with rest instead of leftover work might be the better option.

Recently, I made a decision some have described as bold. Others may also (quietly) describe it as impulsive, dangerous, poorly timed, or even stupid. After nearly a decade of service, I left my full time job without having another one on deck to replace it or the salary that accompanied it. I had been the Senior Pastor of a church in downtown Philadelphia and I felt certain that the call had come to an end and it was time for me to rest. The congregation was poised to enter a busy season of change and growth and needed new leadership with corresponding new energy to usher them into that season. I had served well and my time with them had ended. The timing seemed odd to some because it was not at the end of the year or at a time that seemed more logical but I knew it was the right moment for all of us - especially for me.

I frequently find references to workaholism and exhaustion referred to as badges of some sort. I've never felt compelled to use my "busy-ness" as a sign of something special. It has never been a badge for me. Rather, it has been a burden and now, I can finally release the busy-ness and engage the rest that is unavailable apart from a well-planned vacation or time of extended sabbatical. The problem I faced as I entered this period of rest was that I did not know how to do it!! I thought I could just pencil in a few more nap times, sleep later, and spend my days in pajamas and fuzzy socks while sipping coffee and reading books under a blanket in the living room. I quickly learned that this was merely a fantasy and deep rest was far more elusive and required more intention.

I quickly discovered that true rest involved far more than catching up on sleep. What I really needed was to examine how my entire life had become structured around surviving each workday - a complex network of coping mechanisms that had slowly become my normal. This was not a single problem to solve but a whole system to dismantle. Audre Lorde told us that the master's tools cannot dismantle the master's house. So what's an abolitionist to do? Search for and implement the right tools and do this work in community! (For the record, I took naps alone but please implement the community portion of the rest as you see fit!)

As we move into 2025 we will likely be bothered with some of what bothered us in 2024 (and 2023 and 2022, etc.).  If the world isn't changing, then we must begin by changing the one thing within our control - ourselves!  I'm not one for New Year's resolutions but I'm all for a revolution. I'd love for you to join me as we revolt against soul-crushing media cycles; hand me down burnout in the name of "it's what we've always done"; oppressive paradigms of hierarchy instead of shared visions and collaborations; and the tyranny of time as a limited commodity instead of the gift of time as a resource for living well. As you inhale to tell me that you don’t have time to rest, bear with me and breathe a little deeper. Yes, just like that and hold that breath for a count of four then let it go. That little break in the rhythm of your day was the start of your revolution! 

Two voices have been particularly influential in shaping my understanding of intentional rest: Tricia Hersey (known as the Nap Bishop) in her groundbreaking work Rest is Resistance, and Octavia Raheem in her powerful book Rest is Sacred. These authors offer profound insights into how we can reclaim rest as a fundamental human right. The key is finding the right balance of ingredients that nourish your spirit. The ingredients and results will vary from person to person but I firmly believe that we can all use a little bit of breaking free from the chokehold of other people's time frames. Some days call for a pinch of boundary-setting, while others require a full cup of saying no to demands that don't serve our well-being. We can use a dash of releasing the unrealistic and harmful expectations of others - even those who mean well. My recipe includes a scoop of the courage to engage in the revolutionary acts that will result in a newfound freedom and a well-rested soul. I can taste the freedom already. Can't you?

I am 67 days into my new season of rest and I have found that I am now free to think creatively and breathe deeply. I have found new rhythms for sleeping, eating, praying, loving, and laughing. My days now leave me ready for sleep as a part of the rhythm of life and not merely as a nightly escape from that exhausting life. The season of rest has helped me to notice and identify and study what brings me joy instead of seeing those things as frivolous extras compared to the more important tasks demanded by capitalism. I have added more of those aspects into my life without guilt or self-criticism and I find that the work still gets done and I’m no longer exhausted! Life is not any easier. Oppression has not taken a break. Wildfires are still raging in California. I cannot control any of those things but I can offer a response to those things that is well thought out and offered from a more centered place instead of from a place of frazzled overwhelm. What a difference a breath makes. 

Rest is not a gift easily received, nor does it conform to our rigid schedules and expectations. While we may stumble in our initial attempts to embrace it, rest patiently invites us to keep trying, to keep returning to its transformative power. They are a welcome guest who will, if permitted, make themselves at home and also make home reflect themselves. My hope for each of us as we seek to become free in 2025 is that we would greet rest and allow it to unfold and point us in the direction of our true north and that is -  our true selves. This is rest's calling. Will you allow REST to minister to you and aid in your freedom in 2025?