Well-Rested

Capital Fellows
38 minutes ago
4 min read

By Owen Schutte

I never really figured out how to sabbath while I was in college. I knew that this practice was important, but between football games in the fall, weekend trips with friends, and commitments throughout the week, putting the sabbath into practice never came to fruition. Because of this, the fellows' schedule, with a built-in sabbath day every Saturday, has been a very impactful part of this year.

I was very excited about this, but I quickly realized that because I hadn’t spent time practicing the sabbath, I didn’t really know how to rest. It only took a few Saturdays of sitting and watching college football all day to realize that this is not the soul refreshing rest that the sabbath is after. In a sermon I recently heard from the late Tim Keller, he described experiencing deep, real sabbath rest as “the REM sleep for your soul”. In an article from the National Sleep Foundation, they wrote that “REM sleep helps to ensure better mental concentration and mood regulation, two things that are critical to both your daily work performance and overall quality of life”. This fact about the way that our body sleeps explains how we can sleep for a long time, but often we still wake up exhausted. What Keller was pointing out is that the quality of sleep is much more important than the quantity. This is exactly what I had experienced, just with rest.

After experiencing this lack of quality rest at the beginning of the fall, I started to find the things that were not just “restful” but actually soul refreshing. Making a pour-over coffee, playing guitar, sitting on the porch and reading, finding a trail and walking around as the leaves were changing color - all of these things became parts of my routine that led to much deeper and more meaningful rest.

While I do feel like I improved in this area of life in the fall and am excited to continue entering deeper into this practice, something about the analogy of REM sleep has stuck with me. What I realized is that when it comes to REM sleep, we have no control over it happening. We do not decide if or when REM sleep occurs. All we can do is set ourselves up to have a good night's sleep, but ultimately, it is up to our bodies to make this happen. This is just as true for rest! What this means is that through practicing the sabbath you are setting yourself up as best you can to experience the Lord and have Him refresh your soul. The practices you implement are a means to the end, that end being a deep connection with Jesus.

Over winter break, I was telling my parents about my experience with implementing the sabbath this fall, and my mom shared a quote from a book she had read about the sabbath that I am now taking into this year:

“The world aches for the generosity of a well-rested people”. (Wayne Muller)

My hope and prayer is that this year, I, the fellows, and all followers of Jesus would be people who give generously of ourselves because we rest deeply with the Lord.

Owen Schutte is a member of the Capital Fellows class of 2025-26. He is from Durham, NC, and is a graduate of Baylor University. This year, he is working as an Ecclesial Fellow in the Youth Ministry at McLean Presbyterian Church.

Pictures From The Week

The snowed-in Fellows watching church on Sunday

Know a Potential Capital Fellow?

If you know a college senior or recent graduate who should consider joining the Capital Fellows program in 2026-27, please encourage them to get in touch with us. The easiest way to express interest in the program is through our Contact Us Form. You can learn more about the program, including application deadlines, by visiting the Capital Fellows website.

About Capital Fellows. Capital Fellows is an advanced leadership and discipleship program for recent college graduates. Through graduate courses, a paid internship, one-on-one mentoring, and many leadership and community service opportunities, fellows develop and apply their gifts in real-world situations while learning to integrate a Christian worldview into all areas of life. Capital Fellows is a unique opportunity to live and work in the Washington DC area and to be an active member of a supportive community that seeks to serve the city with the love of Christ. It is also a unique opportunity to get hands-on experience in the workplace while deeply exploring God’s design for us as workers and contributors to human flourishing.

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Thank you for praying for the Capital Fellows each week!

February is almost upon us. That means seminary classes will be starting again and that the job search is in full swing. Please pray for them as they return to the normal weekly rhythm of the program. Also, throughout January, we've had many encouraging and inspiring guest speakers. Please pray for our wonderful guest speakers who are willing to come, many of them year after year, to speak with the Capital Fellows about their vocational journeys.

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About The Fellows Initiative

Capital Fellows is part of a network of similar programs across the country. This network is called The Fellows Initiative. There are 34 Fellows programs in TFI, roughly 3,200 alumni living around the world, and more Fellows programs on the way.

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