Rest That Rewires
Deuteronomy 5:12–15 commands the observance of the Sabbath—a day of rest, remembrance, and reverence. For the alcoholic in recovery, this isn’t just a religious ritual. It’s a spiritual necessity. Rest is not laziness. It’s recalibration.
1. Observe the Sabbath: The Recovery of Rhythm
"Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you."
Recovery requires rhythm. The Sabbath isn’t just a pause—it’s a pattern. In AA, we build routines that support sobriety: meetings, prayer, journaling, service. These aren’t chores. They’re sacred rhythms that keep us aligned.
But you can go beyond the Sabbath and holy days of your faith. You can schedule your own days to improve conscious contact with God and pursue grace, peace, and serenity. Here’s how I do it:
My path to grace is a dance between structure and spontaneity. I find meaning in the formal—like attending Mass on Sundays and scripture studies on Friday mornings. But I also embrace the informal. Fridays are my serenity and grace days, where I schedule randomness: a meal with loved ones, a visit to a hospital or rehab, or a spontaneous beach trip with my wife and dog. It’s random, it’s real, and it’s mine.
Recovery Insight:
I used to chase chaos. Now I chase cadence. The Sabbath reminds me that rest is part of the work. And remember—you can have a cadence in the act of pursuing randomness.
2. Six Days of Labour: The Recovery of Balance
"Six days you shall labour and do all your work..."
Recovery isn’t passive. We work—on ourselves, our relationships, our sobriety. But we also rest. The balance matters. Overwork is a relapse risk. So is underwork. The Sabbath teaches us to honour both effort and ease.
Recovery Insight:
I’ve seen fellows burn out trying to “fix everything” in early sobriety. The Sabbath says: work hard, then stop. Let grace do the rest.
3. No Work for Anyone: The Recovery of Equality
"You shall not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter... nor your male or female servant..."
The Sabbath is universal. It’s not just for the elite. It’s for everyone. In AA, we sit in circles—not rows. No one is above. No one is below. Rest, like recovery, is a shared gift.
Recovery Insight:
I’ve shared meetings with CEOs and ex-cons. The Sabbath reminds me: we all need rest. We all need grace.
4. Remember You Were a Slave: The Recovery of Memory
"Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out..."
Recovery is remembering. We were slaves—to alcohol, to ego, to shame. The Sabbath is a weekly reminder of freedom. Not earned. Given. Not achieved. Received.
Recovery Insight:
I don’t forget Egypt. I don’t dwell there. I don’t regret—but I remember. Because remembering keeps me grateful. And gratitude keeps me sober.
The Fixer’s Takeaway
Rest is not weakness. It’s wisdom.
The Sabbath is a system reboot.
It’s where the Fixer stops fixing—and starts listening.
It’s where the alcoholic stops striving—and starts abiding.
It’s where the soul stops spinning—and starts breathing.
So I observe the Sabbath.
Because I’m religious.
And also because I’m recovering.
And rest is part of the rhythm that keeps me alive.
Jason Bresnehan
Jason is a fixer—of businesses, of broken momentum, and occasionally of entire spiritual frameworks gone sideways. He speaks fluent boardroom and AA, deploys Catholic doctrine with the subtlety of a scalpel, and isn’t afraid to lace his insights with both war-room metaphors and dad-sermon tenderness.
Founder of Evahan, a consultancy built on the idea that legacy and liquidity don’t need to fight, Jason draws on 30 years of commercial grit, tactical leadership, and emotional radar to help people rebuild what entropy took. He works with companies, communities, and recovery misfits alike—often using the same principles to sort both cap tables and chaotic lives.
He’s finalising his first book—a memoir-in-doctrine forged in the trenches of alcoholic recovery, endurance motorsport obsession, and spiritual trench marches. That book, partly teased on his Pursuit of Luck blog, is the cornerstone of a broader movement to connect practical wisdom with satirical grit, spiritual heat, and a recovery roadmap lined with breadcrumbs and tactical grace.