Leaning into the Gift of Restlessness | Casey Tygrett

No one asks for restless moments.

No one wants to feel irritated, unsettled, or stuck.

But what if restlessness is normal, healthy, and even holy?

And what if we need to pay attention to our restlessness as an invitation from God?

In the episode, Casey Tygrett, author of The Gift of Restlessness: A Spirituality for Unsettled Seasons, helps us unpack a new way to view restlessness.

Casey holds a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual formation. He is a Spiritual Director and the director of spiritual direction practice for Soul Care, which helps church and nonprofit leaders restore health to their souls. He is also the author of Becoming Curious: A Spiritual Practice of Asking Questions, and As I Recall: Discovering the Place of Memories in Our Spiritual Life. And he is the host of the podcast Restlessness Is A Gift.

Some highlights from our conversation:

• Casey defines restlessness as that unsettled feeling when we feel stuck in the present, know we can’t go back to the way things used to be, and we are uncertain about the future.
• Casey shares that restlessness is a gift because it leads to formation. It helps us ask deeper questions about ourselves and God.
• We discuss the meditation passage from Mark 1:9-13 and how even Jesus, the beloved Son of God, was led into the wilderness and a season of restlessness. We talk about how this should encourage us. And Casey shares how the phrase “and the wild beasts and angels attended him” gave him a deeper understanding of what restlessness is like.
• Casey asks deep questions throughout his book, and we discuss one of them: What is my purpose? Casey shares how purpose can get distorted to be one specific thing, and while it can sometimes be that, the bigger question is about love. Don’t miss this section to hear Casey’s insight on love as the big purpose of our life.
• We discuss how to know if restlessness is an invitation from God to make a change – or just something we need to push through. Casey highly recommends Spiritual Direction as one way to discern. Spiritual Direction can create a safe space to sort through the questions and listen for God’s next steps.
• I asked Casey to walk us through a season where he processed through restlessness. Casey shared two questions he asks when he’s walking through restlessness: Do you trust God? And Does God trust you?
• We end by talking through the Lord’s prayer and how Casey felt each line was in response to our big questions. This is ultimately how Casey structured his book.

You can connect with Casey at: https://www.caseytygrett.com/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cktygrettauthor

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cktygrett/

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/cktygrett

Ready to explore Spiritual Direction? You can connect with Casey or another Spiritual Director here: https://www.soulcare.com/spiritual-direction

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