Daily Devotions for Caregivers

Daily Devotions for Caregivers: Fear Not - You Worm...? : I was reading along this morning and found a great scripture that contains a wonderful piece of instruction to Jacob: fear not. I let my ey...

I was reading along this morning and found a great scripture that contains a wonderful piece of instruction to Jacob: fear not. I let my eyes rest on those two little words for a few seconds as I thought about how many fears I face almost every day. ( I'm afraid I'll do something wrong while caring for my son, afraid I am not stretching him enough, afraid I'll drop him, afraid I won't stay on top of my growing work load, afraid I'll gain more weight, afraid I won't get to run soon enough.... got the idea? 'cause I can go on!!)  Fear not. Simple, but complex, isn't it? It's easy to say - but difficult to do. Just help me find the button to turn my thoughts off for a minute and maybe I can shut down the fears that come with the situation. I really don't think it's the deepest sense of the word, fear . Sometimes it's healthy to be afraid. Like when you are going to cross the road on foot and there is traffic. It's actually a good thin...

Caregiving is an endless job and it does not take long to feel safely isolated away from the rest of the world. There seems to be times that I want to withdraw on purpose and live safely in my cave. Some of those times can be a good thing, allowing me to gather my thoughts and emotions so that I do not explode on anyone negatively should I have contact with the "outside world."  But there always comes the times to emerge...it's almost like a fresh new start on a very strange level. There are times the isolation of caregivers is good and there are times that the world is a real place for us once again. Either place can be the right place for the moment, neither to be totally embraced, or ignored. No matter which extreme we seem to be living in - or anywhere in between - there's a continual longing, or seeking for Him.... waiting for Him to show up one more time ...  David said in Psalm 63:1    O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek you;  my soul thirsts for...

Please forgive me for being so lax on doing this devotional. I needed help myself for a few weeks. I know you are most likely very familiar with what I call the "caregiver's fog." It can sweep you up and suck you down and leave you in a state of nothingness for days on end. It can fry your emotions and leave you scratching your head barely making it through each grueling day beneath its pressure.But alas...I am finally emerging. I will try to do a better job at keeping my head above and completing this task. My purpose really is to encourage but quite honestly I just have not had it in me! But I'm back now!!  I think what helped me start the difficult dig out of the hole was the other day someone made mention of a particular scripture and I began talking about it. I was so stirred up it got me to thinking about it and many others on the topic. One thing I have tried to do is to begin to read the scriptures without my old religious thinking...it's very difficult ...