Caregivers often run so close to the edge that it only takes something small to cause an emotional catastrophe. Our circumstances require us to get in high gear and stay there all day (and sometimes all night) long. We get accustomed to it, as it's just part of the caregiver journey. We never know when we'll need to make a run to the ER. Supplies may or may not come on time, or they may or may not come at all. We learn to make quick adjustments as they are necessary for our survival and the care of our loved ones. Remaining in high gear all the time can wear on us, even though we may not want to admit it. Our tired bodies and souls won't let us forget it, though. One thing that is frustrating, on top of already being frustrated, is how short my fuse can be. Because there's always  something needing my immediate attention, anything that pops up sends me off the rail. Lol. I hope you don't identify! I think it's interesting that even on the best days, when things...

As caregivers, we can struggle in so many areas. Caregiving isn't prejudiced or discriminatory: it affects our whole being, through and through. But one of the most challenging battle arenas is the brain. It's in our minds that we figure out how to win or choose to lose each battle. Every day brings "enough trouble," as Jesus put it.  (Matthew 6:34) Boy, does it!  We look at our days as our new "normal," but it's anything but normal. The average non-caregiver person would not even know where to start. But, here we are tackling each thing as it comes up. And we do it all day every day all day long! And you want me to worry about my mindset? Ha! In Philippians 4:6, Paul tells the readers be anxious for nothing. Sounds good. Sounds easy. Obvoiusly Paul wasn't a caregiver. But he was sitting in a prison cell for preaching the gospel. He must have known something about anxiety!  Paul goes on to tell the Philippian church to bring everything to God in pray...

  There have been several times in my life when I have found myself in a position to have to start over. In 1993, when I found myself in a divorce situation, I had to scrape things together and start over. I began with very little, but God always provided. As a single parent headed back to school, it was a scary place. But God did not fail me. He helped me take every step to true freedom and took care of me all along the way. Once my kids were grown, I retired from teaching and went into "full-time" ministry. It wasn't all I had hyped it up to be. Lol. A young couple asked me to stay with them as their way of supporting the ministry, while I began to work full-time as a volunteer at the church, managing many of the outreaches, writing, and publishing resources. But when the husband was deployed, the wife asked me to move out. I had nowhere to go. I ended up living upstairs in the church with very little substance. (I was a monk before it was cool.. lol jk) In a few months...

 Sometimes the days are a little bit crazy, and we can feel like our heads are spinning. Of course, there are better days where things go as planned (or real close to it). I like those smooth-running days. But lately, there have been so many more disruptions, including a not-so-quick run to the ER. Even our best days can be shrouded by grief.  I don't think I've ever heard anyone say they want to be a full-time caregiver to their loved ones when they grow up. Lol. Of course, we begin to realize with our parents that it's very likely going that way. But it's not our goal in our youth. It's something that life puts on our plates, and most of the time we accept it gracefully and try to do the best we can, with whoever we are taking care of. No one ever said caregiving was easy! Not anyone who's ever done it, anyway! lol. It's easy for our souls to become shrouded. Oswald Chambers (one of my favs!) called it the dark night of the soul. It's when the soul is ...

  Have you ever heard the saying, take one day at a time ? Me too! In fact, I've probably said it. I must say that it is good advice, in general. But as caregivers, there are some days that life hurls one thing after another like it's going for the kill shot. When we have those kinds of overwhelming days, we learn to take one breath at a time.  I don't have to explain to you how there can be so many things going on at one time. Sometimes, I feel like I am a master juggler! LOL. Put this thing off until tomorrow, so this other thing can get done today in this particular time slot. And so the chaos continues. Day after day. And of course, everything feels important - because it is. But we learn to juggle and jiggle and rearrange to get done what simply can't be missed. I'm worn out just thinking about it. Lol. Recently, the days have felt a little busier, and when that happens, it's easy to feel like we're getting sucked in and under. But our doom is NOT to be...

 Isn't it funny how sometimes we can have this mental image of God wringing His hands, just because we are? Somehow we tend to think that when something goes crazy in our days that God gets nervous. Maybe we think of Him as walking around to de-stress. Perhaps we think He has a wrinkled brow. But He doesn't. In fact, when something goes crazy in our day, He doesn't react at all. He remains calm, consistent, and present. When something goes wonky, I can have a barrage of questions, sighs, and thoughts go through my being in a matter of a couple of seconds. But God doesn't do that. He never thinks: What went wrong? What did I do now? I didn't see that coming. Boy, that was a dumb choice. Oh no! There are no sighs coming from God. No wringing of the hands. No wrinkled brow. He is calm, cool, and collected. All the time. Caregiving days can be hectic. They can be chaotic. Even our best days are on the edge of what "could" happen. We never know when one little ...