Skip to main content

Quick Escapes

When I first brought my son home I could not transport him by myself. Due to the head injury, he was very stiff and  sometimes wouldn't bend once you got his stood up. This made it difficult to get him in a vehicle. Add to that the fact that I was inexperienced at transfers and let's just say we stayed home a lot! Eventually, I was able to get a handicap van and we enjoyed a brief amount of freedom. It was short-lived as the van is very old and needs a lot of work. Presently it sits in a parking spot outside my apartment. I'm pretty much stranded. You might say I am a captive in my own house for the most part. I do have the option of public transportation and use it a couple of times a week.

Even though I sometimes feel like a captive in my own house, it's nothing compared to what others like Daniel have gone through. In the first chapter of Daniel we find the story of the captivity of a great number of Israelites. He found himself in great adversity. He was:

  • Held captive 
  • Physically mistreated and mutilated
  • Made incapable of having children
  • In a land foreign to his own
  • Separated from his family
Even though Daniel was in a state of adversity, he made up his mind about some things. In the first chapter, verse 8 the Bible tells us that he "purposed in his heart" to not eat the king's food. He refused to defile his body. Daniel was taking a big change here; he could have been killed simply for refusing.Here he was facing great adversity and a life that had become very complicated but he choose to hold to his convictions.

The caregiver's life can be a state of adversity. We can feel like we are held captive by the situation; and at times it seems like everyday is a battle. But like Daniel, we can make up our minds to be pure, to follow our convictions and hold true to the Word of God. We can choose to follow peace in our heart and not allow things in our lives that displease the One we serve.

God saw Daniel's dedication to Him. He did not offer him a quick escape from his situation. There is likely no quick escape for the caregiver. Instead, we see that Daniel was content in the situation and trusted that God would take care of him. Like Daniel we can't just look for quick escapes out of difficult situations, we must determine in our hearts that we will live a life of purity even in adversity. We must determine that we will live a life of purity and holiness before the Lord and not use our adversity for an excuse. We ultimately must trust Him for the safety of our hearts.

Today I will trust Him with my heart. I will purposefully evaluate my life to see if there is anything that might be displeasing to God. And I will remove it. I will not look for a quick escape - I'll look for a way to honor Him in my situation. Will you join me?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ups and Downs

  Maybe it's just "that time of year" for me, but I've struggled a lot the last few weeks. I still affectionately  call it the caregiver's fog. Lol. Okay, maybe it's not-so-affectionately. I know I can share my true feelings with you guys because you get it. You understand the day-to-day grind of caregiving. The military has a saying about there being no easy day. I think we live in that reality. It's just not easy caring for another whole person, is it? Caregiving presents many difficulties. We can find ourselves alone, so very alone on this journey. It doesn't just go away. We don't just work through it. It seems to go on and on. There are lots of ups and downs - and that can be about every 90 seconds some days. Right? (smile!) As I've been working through this emotional maze the last few days, I turned my thoughts to Daniel. Let's take a realistic look at his circumstances because as we read his story in the Bible, we tend to glamorize i

Seasons Are Temporary

  This morning, I found myself reading in Isaiah 28. I ended up there because I was looking for something in particular, and even though I didn't find what I was looking for, I found what I needed. God's so cool like that, isn't He? My eyes first fell on verse 29, which says in the NKJ: This also comes from the Lord of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance. I rolled that over in my mind and heart a few times and spent a few minutes thinking about how I'd seen His counsel in action in my own life. We've all had those times when we weren't sure what to do or where to go, and suddenly, an idea drops into our thoughts. There are many ways He provides direction for us. He may direct our steps through a passage of scripture, a trusted spiritual leader such as a pastor, a YouTube teacher, and maybe even a lowly blog writer. Lol. No matter how He chooses to deliver His counsel, it comes - but we must listen. After I had rolled these thoughts and t

Seek and Ye Shall Find

 Over the last few weeks, I've been trying to strategize ways of dealing with stress. It's something we all deal with, especially caregivers. I'm walking and exercising more, which helps the body get rid of stress and it helps improve sleep to some degree. But I've also been working on training my thoughts. I've been working on purposefully finding things to be thankful for. At first, it was a bit difficult because let's face it, caregiving is hard work.  This morning, I was plugging Chris into a nebulizer for a breathing treatment as he had an asthma attack yesterday afternoon after we'd been out for a little bit. As I was doing his treatment and his tube feeding, I didn't even really think about it; this "thought" just rolled up out of me. I thought, thank you, Lord, for carrying us through the long night. My own thankfulness surprised me! Lol. I realized at that moment that it's getting easier and easier to be thankful, even for the litt