Daily Devotions for Caregivers

  One of the improvements my son has made lately is that he can communicate "yes" and "no" more clearly. He uses his left hand to sign, "yes." He's also started nodding his head for yes more consistently. To communicate "no," he shifts his eyes from one side to the other. As he has regained more function, this is broader, and now he is moving his head from side to side for an emphatic, "No!" I'm learning not to ask questions he might say no to. I need him to know that I respect his answers. But this morning, I forgot and asked him if he was ready for his shower. I got a whole head and eyes side to side, "NO!" lol. Too bad, it's shower day. A little compassion kicked in as I thought of all the mornings I've thought, NO! I do NOT want to get up and get started today!  So many times, caregivers are tired before they even begin, but must just get up and get going since there is so much to do! How many mornings have...

 As I was writing yesterday's post about finding  what we seek, I thought of another familiar passage. I went there because I was writing about waiting on God for strength. That always makes me think of Isaiah 40:31. But since I wanted to keep that in context, I backed up to verse 27.  The prophet Isaiah asks Israel, how can you say God doesn't see your troubles? How can you say God refuses to hear your case? (NLT) Then he says, Have you never heard or understood? I interpreted that as "Don't you get it?" And the answer, of course, is He's got you!  I am not sure we will ever be able to fully understand His grace, His strength, or His love. But that doesn't mean we are excluded from enjoying them if we can remind ourselves of them.  The question itself (Don't you get it?) makes me look back at what I am supposed to "get."  How can you say the Lord doesn't see your troubles? Interpreted: God sees you and your troubles, struggles, and situa...

 This morning, I was thinking about how many "enemies" David had. He ran from Saul for years. But at one point, the Philistines hated him, even though he'd been running and fighting with them. At Ziklag (1 Sam. 30:6), his own men talked of stoning him. Then in 2 Sam 15 we read the story of how his own son, Absalom, rose up against him. That's a lot.  As caregivers, it can feel like life is stacking "stuff" up against us constantly, right?  As I was thinking about all of these situations, I wondered how David kept his mind right. That's a lot to navigate, physically and emotionally. Thankfully, most of it didn't happen all at one time. It sounds like a typical caregiving day to me.  We never know what is going to happen in a day, when things may take a turn for the worse or for the better. Caregivers continue making the best decisions they can with the information they have available. This happens over time and sometimes it happens several times in a ...

  I'm working my way through Psalms for an upcoming book I'm writing on grief. I love that the psalmists were so expressive of their feelings, and that God let  them put them in the Bible. We can easily forget how human our beloved Bible characters were. They felt pain and joy. Many lived stressful lives. The Psalms are one of the most "human" books, I think, because we get to see a piece of how people like Moses, Asaph, the sons of Korah, and, of course, David, really felt. Psalm 73 was written by Asaph. He is obviously writing during a very troublesome time in his life. It was verses 22-24 that caught my eye. In verse 22, he admits his ignorance and foolishness. In the NLT (1996), verse 22 says,  I must have seemed like a senseless animal to You.  Boy, I've felt senselss and foolish before God, haven't you? But the first phrase of verse 23 is what grabbed my attention. Asaph has felt like he lost it before God, then he says, But I still belong to You. Man, I...

  This morning, I went to the fridge to get something. When I opened the door, I noticed a bag of grapes on the second shelf. Nothing significant, except that I thought I had eaten all of them. So, I grabbed the bag and ate the rest of them again. lol.  I thought for a second about the widow in 1 Kings 17. God sent Elisha to her house after he'd been fed by ravens by the brook during the famine. He asked her to make him a cake. Her reply is heartbreaking. She explained that she only had enough flour and oil to make a meal for her son and herself. That was it. She figured after that, they would just die.  The wise prophet told her to make him a small loaf first. Seems a bit selfish to me, but she obeyed. He then explained that her flour and oil would not run out for the rest of the famine. Sure enough. Her bin always had enough flour, and her jar always had enough oil. My imagination jumped on that one.  What if every time I opened the fridge, there was a small cluste...

  I love the Psalms, maybe it's because the psalmists were so raw and real with their emotions and feelings. They didn't hold back, especially David! They told it like it was. It was finding Psalm 13 anew that helped me start processing the emotions of caregiving. I felt lost. It seemed like God had pushed a "cancel" button on my life, and He wasn't even listening to me. When I found those thoughts and feelings mirrored in Psalm 13, it was like I found a license to hurt. It's okay to grieve; it's not a sin.  I return to the Psalms a lot for my private devotions and use them often in my writings. This morning, I found myself in a very familiar place: Psalm 91. I'm sure you are familiar with it too! But there's this one verse that caught my eye. In the KJV, NASB, and the ESV, verse 4 says something like this: He will cover you with His pinions  (what is that, anyway?) and under His wings you will find refuge;  His faithfulness is a shield and buckler...