One of my most popular substack posts & podcast episodes with the highest downloads was Sabbath rest when you can’t take a day off. Today, I want to do a part two to that post since it resonated with so many, and because it’s a topic I still think about often. Here’s the first post in case you want to start there:
Sabbath rest when you can't take a day off
I stumbled upon a sabbath post recently written by a twenty-something Christian blogger. It made me smile because I saw myself in it so much. I remember that season really well. Finding time to press pause on life on the weekends. To choose to let the chores pile up, the laundry left unfolded, the fridge empty, and to stop almost everything.
One of my favorite things about Jesus is that he walked almost everywhere. It’s not a super profound thing that you hear talked about in sermons often…but when I really think about it, I think it’s kind of wild. This is God. He could have traveled in any way he liked but most often, he chose to walk. There were times when he popped up in places or walked through walls in his resurrected body, however during most of his ministry, he chose to do things the slow human way…and he walked.
When we talk about Jesus washing the disciple’s feet, often people talk about how everyone’s feet were likely dirty from walking. I think about Jesus getting blisters, getting sore, getting tired. I started thinking about Jesus walking a lot when I was postpartum after having my son. I went on walks every day, even in January. For me, walking felt like the most comforting thing in my healing journey.
At first, I didn’t think there was any science behind this. Walking was safe for my C-section recovery and I loved using my cute stroller with it’s bassinet attachment. When my son was fussy, we would walk. Wouldn’t nap? Let’s go for a walk. Need some “me time?” I’d pop in my AirPods and listen to an audio book and walk.
I love being in motion. In trauma therapy, I did EMDR. I quickly realized there was an interesting connection between walking and EMDR. The therapist who discovered EMDR actually realized the connection our brains make with healing while walking.1 While I walked mile after mile around my neighborhood as a new mom, I realized this was the case for me. I felt like each step I took was bringing me closer to myself and closer to God.
In EMDR, we talked about images that felt safe before starting. For me, the safest part of my body after trauma was my feet. And I know that might sound silly, but truly, when I think of the part of my body that feels trustworthy and reliable, it’s my feet. My husband and I lived in the high rocky mountains as newly weds and hiking was our go-to activity. We found our way to many mountaintops and I loved the feeling of taking one exhausted step after another, even in thinning oxygen and watching as we got closer and closer to a mountain that looked like it was a torn piece of paper ripped out of the sky.
Now, I find myself all-in on the practice of “grounding” no matter how woo woo it sounds. I like the feeling of my feet touching the earth—I like to feel fully here and present.
So, what does walking have to do with the Sabbath?
Traditionally, I think most modern Christians think of Sabbath in the same way. It’s taking a day off, it’s getting away, it’s stopping. But as a tired new mom, I wondered if moms with newborns were just left out of this practice entirely. While constantly nursing, worrying about sleeping and eating (both myself and the baby!) I was maxed out. The idea of stopping was impossible, getting away would be a brief escape, and taking a day off didn’t exist without shedding a part of my identity too.
I don’t think Jesus designed the Sabbath this way. When Jesus rose, one of the first things we know he did was go for a walk.2 In a famous passage in scripture, Jesus reveals himself to his disciples on the road to Emmaus, walking. I love that instead of coming back and showing off with a huge miracle he goes back to exactly what he was doing before the resurrection—walking and meeting his people in the rhythms of their daily lives. (That’ll preach!)
People who are already exhausted and worn out don’t need to be told to schedule out another day and plan and pack in all the restful self-care practices they can possible think of. (Trust me, I’ve been in one too many moms groups where they just promise more self care will heal you.) We need real rest. We need healing. We need hope in the day to day.
Here’s a theological shift: I think Jesus is our Sabbath. What if we can enter into real, full, intentional rest while walking with Jesus?
The reality for many of us is the tension I felt as a new mom. I couldn’t take a day off from nursing a baby. I can’t take a day off from feeding my toddler now, although I could potentially give that task to someone else, there are still other things I have to do to maintain our lives that I can’t get a break from. I can’t just shut down. I can’t fully step away. My guess is you can’t either.
In my last post, I shared how Jesus worked many healing miracles on the Sabbath.3 (Another theological tidbit that has always captured my attention.) I think it’s beautiful to recognize there is a connection with our healing and walking. Science is now catching up to a truth that I credit as God’s truth—we can heal and rest while being in motion.
My life now is always in motion. However, I don’t feel like it’s overly busy, stuffed full, or exhausting. I don’t always feel rushed and I don’t always feel behind. I’m not burnt out and I’m not just barely making it. This is possible because when I think of Sabbath, I think of going on a literal walk with Jesus. I think of Sabbath in motion. Rest can be less about what we stop doing and more about how we are sustained while we continue walking out our individual callings instead.
To me, Sabbath is found in this soul-level, healing, rest that we can access even while moving. Instead of longing for an invitation for a full stop with Jesus, it’s saying yes to his true invitation: walk with me.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest.
Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
-Matthew 11:28–30 MSG, emphasis mine.
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