The Gift of Restlessness: A Spirituality for Unsettled Seasons

By Casey Tygrett

Book Overview

No one asks for restless moments. No one wants to feel irritated, unsettled, or stuck. When pressed into restless seasons in our relationships, work, or faith, we feel the hum: You can't go back, but you can't stay here . But what if restlessness is normal, healthy, and even holy? What if spiritual questions are not problems to be solved but invitations of the soul? And what if spiritual maturity inspires restlessness rather than inoculating us against it? Spiritual director Casey Tygrett upends the notion that restlessness is a sign that we must move up, move on, or move out. Working within the prayerful tradition of writers like Henri Nouwen and Barbara Brown Taylor, Tygrett turns over our innermost questions and holds them up to the light. Where do I belong? What am I here for? Is there enough? And he finds a surprising alignment of these restless questions with the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. In that ancient prayer's pleas for belonging, purpose, sustenance, mending, protection, and rescue, we find freedom to ask basic human questions and permission to befriend our longings. Each chapter offers profoundly spiritual practicesthat, when taken together, create a spirituality sturdy enough for our unsettled seasons. In a culture that values happiness and self-actualization, we often race toward the pat resolution or the quick fix. But in doing so, we miss the subtle gifts of unsettled times. Remaining in restlessness, rather than rushing toward the next job, vacation, or partner, moves us deeper into the life of the Spirit and our own belovedness.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1506483569
• ISBN13: 9781506483566
• Release Date: April 2023
• Publisher: Broadleaf Books
• Length: 163 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Help in a restless season…

In his new book, “The Gift of Restlessness”, Casey Tygrett has written about his own journey of restlessness, and invites us to come along. And in his journey, he shows us restlessness is not something to be feared, but to be embraced and examined. “What we learn from restlessness, though, is that it is often in the unsafe place-the wilderness place where hunger loneliness and even death tease us-where we most frequently meet God.” In a world that grows more restless and unsettled every day, Casey has given us insight on how to deal with our restless seasons by leaning into them and leaning on God. #thegiftofrestlessness