“Gritty Sabbath Rest: Shaping a Keystone Habit for Adolescent Faith & Joy”

When our experience of joy is tethered to an identity-centering relationship with Jesus Christ its promise is assured by Christ’s resurrection. Learning how to live more fully in the presence of Jesus helps us to experience resilient joy, inextinguishable in the face of untimely or chronic adversity. As Brother Lawrence taught in the 17th century, joy from the ever present Christ is accessible even amidst life’s tedious tasks, like washing dishes. Today’s fast-paced lifestyles may exacerbate the natural challenge of capacity limitations but they need not hijack the promised joy of Christ’s indwelling presence in our lives. Learning to live with Jesus is joyfully transformational, but it takes deliberate practice. Gritty Sabbath rest, shaped as a keystone habit that works for spiritually unsophisticated adolescents, may be just what we need to learn how to flourish with Jesus in joy.