The words “I’m busy,” or “I’m good, just tired,” are maybe the most common words in a college student’s vocabulary.
For senior Megan Elias, these were the words she said the most.
“I am so burned out, I am so exhausted during my classes,” Elias said. “And my weekends are packed with people or homework.”
Elias started taking a Sabbath during her junior year of college. She said she set aside one day of the week to not do work.
But, instead of being “lazy” and not doing anything, she learned to use that time to rest her soul and worship God.
“Once a week, being able to rest and experience God and be filled by His Spirit, and be able to do things that just bring me a lot of joy,” Elias said. “[I like] not having to touch work or anything like that, but really being around community and people that can pour into my cup.”
Life without a Sabbath
As a part of the class of 2024, Elias started college during COVID-19. When she got onto campus her sophomore year, she wanted to pack as many things into her schedule as possible.
“My mindset was, ‘Let me just try to connect with as many people as possible, fill up my schedule, and do as much homework as possible,’” Elias said.
She found her worth in being busy. Elias said she went from one thing to the next and the next — without realizing it was fueling her exhaustion and hurting her soul.
“What I produced equated to how good of a student I was and how good of a person I was,” Elias said. “If I could produce then it was like I was making it somewhere.”
During Elias’ junior year of college, she said she hit a point where she couldn’t keep up with the busy lifestyle. She had to make a change, and for her, that came in the form of starting to practice a Sabbath.
The word “Sabbath” stems from the Hebrew word “Shabbat,” meaning “rest,” according to Jewish Virtual Library. It is typically a day set aside for rest and worship.
It is defined as “a day of religious observance and abstinence from work,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Many Jewish people honor their Sabbath from Friday evening to Saturday evening, and many Christians practice a Sabbath on Sundays.
Keeping a Sabbath is the fourth of the Ten Commandments in the book of Exodus, stemming back to the biblical creation story.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God,” according to Exodus 20:8-11 (ESV).
But with that, only about half of Americans say they truly keep a Sabbath and prioritize it, according to a survey by Deseret News.
What a Sabbath looks like
Ever since starting to practice a real Sabbath, Elias said she has seen significant change in her life and has felt more rested, more connected to God and even more productive with her time.
“My life has changed for the better,” Elias said.
Practically speaking, Elias said she uses her Passion Planner, a weekly agenda, to plan out her week — scheduling in time for her Sabbath.
Elias said when planning for her Sabbath, she is more productive throughout the week because she knows she won’t have that extra day to procrastinate her work.
“I try to be as effective and efficient as possible during the school week,” Elias said. “But, if I don’t get all my work done, then that’s where I think true transformation and trust comes in.”
Sophomore Emma Monte started taking a Sabbath in her junior year of high school. For her, it started as just a Saturday morning of prioritizing rest, but is now a full day.
She started practicing a Sabbath after reading John Mark Comer’s book called, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.”
In that book, Comer writes about prioritizing rest in a busy world and gives practical advice for readers on how to slow down one’s life and live in an “unhurried” way, rather than going from one thing to another.
“We hear the refrain ‘I’m great, just busy’ so often we assume pathological busyness is okay,” Comer wrote in the book. “After all, everybody else is busy too. But what if busyness isn’t healthy? What if it’s an airborne contagion, wreaking havoc on our collective soul?”
Comer encourages readers to start simply when slowing down their lives — things as easy as fully stopping at stop signs, driving the speed limit or having one “disconnected” dinner where members turn electronics off and connect with those around them.
“Here’s my point: the solution to an overbusy life is not more time,” Comer wrote. “It’s to slow down and simplify our lives around what really matters.”
First-year Jack Sulewski takes a Sabbath every Sunday, and said he uses it as a day of rejuvenation, worship, fun with friends, journaling, silence and solitude.
“I have not done school on a Sunday this whole semester, and it’s amazing,” Sulewski said.
After taking about six months to “perfect” his Sabbath routine, Sulewski said he found a routine that works for him now.
“That system has been my foundation and baseline coming into college,” Sulewski said.
Carolyn Deal, Caruso School of Law 3L student, said she also read Comer’s book and was inspired to start taking a Sabbath from it.
Instead of having one Sabbath day, Deal breaks it up into two — Friday night and Sunday morning. She doesn’t do any work during those times, even if she feels like she needs to.
“I did homework one Friday night, out of all of college, and it felt really, really weird,” Deal said.
Deal also intentionally sets aside time, so if she has something to get done, it needs to get done before her rest time.
“I intentionally have those spaces blocked out for rest,” Deal said.
Life with a Sabbath
For both Deal and Elias, if they don’t get all of their work done before their Sabbath, then they don’t get it done — they still prioritize time to rest.
“Even if I don’t [finish my work], it’s being obedient and trusting that God will give me that time after my Sabbath, to be able to do work,” Elias said.
Just like people trust God with their resources or with their major life decisions, Elias said she trusts God with her rest. If she feels overwhelmed, she said it is an act of surrender for her to prioritize worshipping God and trusting that He will provide her with the time she needs.
After practicing a Sabbath once a week, Monte said it has fully changed her life for the better.
“[I’ve learned] what it looks like to record God’s presence and find joy in small things and simplicity and enjoy silence and solitude,” Monte said.
As a procrastinator, the discipline helps her stay productive and on schedule. And, she said it helps her calm her mind not to be multitasking during every moment of her life.
“When I’m working, I’m working, and I’m not stressed about resting, because I know that this is time to work,” Deal said. “And then when I’m resting, I’m not working.”
Scheduling rest into her routine has helped her feel better mentally, physically and emotionally.
“Every time I skip rest, I feel immensely worse,” Deal said.
Practicing rest translates into every other aspect of her life as well, Deal said. She can live unhurried, and lead a calmer, more peaceful life.
“Rest is more of where your heart is,” Deal said. “If you’re rushing all the time, that is the opposite of rest.”
She also said being rested helps her have more energy and time to devote to the people and things in her life that matter to her.
“If you’re burnt out, you can’t do anything fun,” Deal said.
Even if Deal feels like she is “missing out” or should do work during her Sabbath, she said she reminds herself that this discipline is helping her in the long run, and helps her stay more connected to herself, to her faith and the people around her.
“You have as much time as every other person,” Deal said. “It’s just how you delegate that time.”
Sulewski also said he prioritizes his work during the week so he can intentionally set aside time for his Sabbath. Even on weeks when he is busier, he said he tries to stick to it.
“Often we really have the time we need, just fill it with things that don’t give us rest,” Sulewski said.
For anyone who is trying to start a Sabbath, Sulewski said he recommends reading Comer’s book, alongside “Atomic Habits” by James Clear and “The Monk who Sold His Ferrari” by Robin Sharma.
He said he wishes everyone could experience the kind of rest and rejuvenation that he has since starting a Sabbath.
“I have felt so much more focused, energized and refreshed,” Sulewski said. “I know what’s important to me and at the end of the day, I stick to it.”
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Contact Abby Wilt via email: abby.Wilt@pepperdine.edu
