Daily Devotions for Caregivers

 We have options when it comes to viewing our days. Now, I'll be the first to admit that some days feel like a series of major fails. It can feel like some days swallow us whole before we even get out of bed. In fact, most nights I go to bed feeling like I am a total failure. What's funny, or not funny, about it is that I may have left one or two things undone, and they seem to weigh much more than what I did get done. I'm still training myself to run through the list of everything I did get done that day, when what I missed or didn't get to tries to bite at my soul.  It's been hard, but finally,  when I start with the negative thoughts about all I missed or didn't get done, I start listing all I did get done. Even the smallest things can be huge wins. They all add up, after all. We can be our own worst critics; it's time we learn to encourage ourselves. After all, I don't know about you - but there aren't many people around trying to encourage me. S...

Did you ever wonder why God had the Children of Israel build a tabernacle while they were traveling through the wilderness? I mean, really. Didn't they have enough going on already? Lol. They have left Egypt and slavery behind. God is leading them with a cloud by day and a fire by night. He's dumping manna on them each morning. And they are traveling. And traveling. And traveling. Yet, God gave Moses the specific plans to build a tabernacle. My mind says, "Yeah, one more thing to carry with us!" (That's sarcasm in case you didn't recognize it!)  They had to cut down trees, and not just any trees, specific trees  for the various components of the Tabernacle. They had to weave cloth together, and not just any  cloth, specific types of cloth were used for the various elements. They had to make gold utensils and silver utensils. And they had very specific instructions. God even provided them with instructions on how to load it all up when it was time to move again...

 I've heard it said that when Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, he was possibly living through one of the most difficult times in his life. He was nearing the end of his life and was sitting out his days in prison for preaching the gospel. I love that he didn't give up or give in. He kept writing and sending letters to the various churches to encourage them. In chapter 11, he goes through quite the list of things he'd already been through. He'd been beaten, stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked, robbed, and the list goes on. Then in chapter 12, he petitioned the Lord about one particular thorn in his flesh. Who knows what that was, I've heard lots of suggestions over the years. No matter what it was - the Lord had one answer for it. My grace is enough. Your weakness is what displays my strength. What a thought!  I've read and thought a lot about this passage, but I thought about it in a different way this past weekend. My thoughts were about how God promises here that H...

  The other morning, I stepped outside to enjoy the coolness. While I was admiring the beauty and intricate details of a small white flower, a small bug flew into the flower. I watched for a little while and thought about how God planned the smallest details in nature. How did He come up with all of that? Lol! Firstly, He created the flower in such intricate detail and unique beauty. Then he made the small bug that would come to pollinate it, so more would grow. What an amazing system He created. And He didn't miss any of the tiny details it would take to keep the whole ecosystem going. If He cared so much about those little flowers that He ensured they could continue to thrive, how much more does He care about us? Psalm 139:3 reminds us that He is intimately acquainted with all our ways.  This psalm talks about how He watched our bodies form in the wombs of our mothers. He gets the details.  For caregivers, our days are made up of lots of details. Our brains and hearts h...

I've been reading the book of James this week. He encourages believers to be patient with the process of faith. James talks about building endurance and growing in faith. In fact, maybe we've tried to make faith a destination rather than the journey it is! That's one conclusion I've come to, anyway. Faith is definitely a journey! One of the recurring themes in James is patience. He encourages us to be patient as our faith grows. In fact, in chapter 5, he discusses how a farmer must wait for his harvest. Depending on the crop that was planted, it can be a loooooong wait from seed-planting to mature crop harvesting! The farmer can't really do anything to make the process faster, he has no choice other than to wait for the natural process to unfold over time. I'll be the first one to admit that sometimes, it's the wait that is behind our greatest frustrations. We certainly can't hurry the caregiving journey. We have to take each day as it comes and walk it ...

 I do not think that all caregivers are depressed! Lol. But I do think that as a society, we deal with depression a lot. Mental health is a hot topic, and as caregivers, we have to be in charge of our own mental health. And that can be a very rough road. Not to brag, but I can go from totally elated (90 miles an hour) to utterly depressed (0 miles an hour) in just about a second and a half. Things hit us hard, and it can be a constant struggle to keep our heads above water, so to speak.  I've shared a few strategies for beating caregiver's fog, which really stems from overwhelm and emotional stress. Each day can feel like a struggle to breathe emotionally, and many of us do it alone. I think that's why Psalm 25:16 captured me. David said he was alone and depressed.  Two things the church culture doesn't want us to admit. Why? They don't know what to do with it and with us - because we cannot just confess it away. We can beat it, but we have to do it over and over a...