A Thousand Things

My head is swimming in thoughts this morning as I sit to write this devotion. I had a full weekend, and lots to process. Actually, I've had a full morning already with more things to process. That takes time. The overthinker that I am goes back through every experience, action, discussion and more - and breaks it down into thousands of thoughts. As I redigest it - I learn things to do and not do next time. So, I could easily say with no exaggeration that I have about 1000 things running through my mind this morning.

On top of all that - I have about 1000 things I need to get done today. I made good progress over the weekend, let a client go and got finished with another, but I am still behind. So, I've got lots to do today to keep the clients I have now happy. Then there's the writing I want to do for Dove's Fire Ministries - I wanted to get 31 Days in Psalm 31 done in January. So I'm behind on my stuff too.

I haven't even thought much about the 1000 caregiving things I need to do today! I've already got Chris dressed, up and fed. He's listening to his ebook as I type this upstairs. I've done dishes, fed everyone, and taken out the trash and there are still another 1000 things ready to demand my time... when I can find the time.

There are more than 1000 things grabbing at my attention, my mind, and my heart today. It can be a constant struggle to just stay focused on the basic caregiving tasks that must be done, much less try to juggle all the rest. I took a minute or two to look up the word, thousand in the Bible - as I could relate. lol Here are a few scriptures I found:

God shows lovingkindness to thousands (Exodus 20:6)
May God increase you a thousand fold (Deuteronomy 1:11)
God says we can chase a thousand and two of us can put 10-thousands to flight (Deuteronomy 32:30)
His word is commanded to a thousand generations (1 Chronicles 16:15)
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10)
A thousand shall fall at my right hand... (Psalm 91: 7)

The old hymn comes back to mind O for a thousand tongues to sing.... If I had a thousand hands to raise, it wouldn't be enough to praise Him for all He's done. So instead of letting my mind run through thousands upon thousands of things tugging at my time today - I will focus on being one of a thousand singing to Him, thanking Him for bringing me through this storm one day at a time.

Today, I'll think about praising Him 1000 times. I'll try to thank Him 1000 times. I'll let my heart make that perspective switch - and I'll meditate on His goodness instead of all I need to get done. I will direct my thoughts to the 1000 things He's done for me - grace, love, mercy, help, kept me - etc. I have a pretty long list - I'll let that consume me today! Will you join me?

Comments

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

Daily Devotions for Caregivers

Search This Blog