Flowers Die when Fruit Grows

I have a bunch of indoor plants, and with spring came a new burst of outdoor plants. They are on my front patio. One of the plants is a pepper plant. Over the last few days, I noticed a new bloom. I was so excited! This morning as I was out tending my plants, I noticed the bloom was dying, and there is another bloom! I looked at the dying flower with a little sadness, since I'd enjoyed its brief burst of color. But then I had this thought if the flower is dying - that means a habanero pepper is coming!

My short sadness turned into elation as I realized I will get some fruit for my labor. I just stood and stared at the two flowers. One brand new this morning and the other fading away. As I looked at the two blooms, I wondered how many times we grieve over things we perceive as dying - when it's something God has designed to bring fruit?

caregivers often live with lots of grief. We can sense huge losses every single day. Many of us live with what is called "living grief." This type of grief can take many forms. For some, it's grieving over a parent you see slipping away one day at a time. For others like myself, it is seeing the body of my son here, but who he was has been left in the past. Others deal with this type of grief over a child or loved one they never had the opportunity to enjoy watching the normal stages of growth with.

It's no comfort to me to understand that the painful transitions in life are yielding fruit if I'm honest. So, I have to adjust my thinking a bit to see how God is still working His purpose in my broken life. All death doesn't mean an end. It is a new beginning. Over the next few days, I'll enjoy watching that orange pepper grow. I bet that's what God does with us, don't you?

While we are grieving our losses (and that is healthy and natural!), He's watching the fruit develop as part of the process. I know caregiving has changed me. Some good. Some bad. lol - But as a person, I've grown so much. I've learned to trust God more, to hold on to Him more tightly. I'm still learning to let His grace work in my life, let mercy help, and let His peace reign. While I like the pretty pictures in life like those habanero blooms, the fruit will sustain and nourish, a flower will not. Don't get me wrong - the flower has a purpose. We need "pretty" when life gets ugly. But fruit has a purpose too.

Today, I will remind myself that when something dies - it's not the end. I'll turn my sense of loss into thoughts of gratitude for God's sustaining me until I can bear fruit for His kingdom. I'll be thankful for all the "pieces" of life that work together to make me whole in Him. My meditation will be on all the work He does to sustain this little plant I call life. And I'll trust Him to work in me for one more day - will you join me?

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Caregiver Burnout is Real

Do you ever just get too tired? Do you ever want to quit? Do you ever sit down for a whole 30 seconds and think about not getting back up? Ever? Who am I kidding? Sometimes I forget who I'm talking to. Lol. As caregivers, burnout is real. But the problem for most of us, is we don't get a break even in the midst of burnout, right? Let's face it. If we had a bit more help we might avoid burnout - but once we feel that we are in a season of burnout and stressed out - there's still no help. It's easy to feel stuck. I try to do a few things to avoid burnout and to cope. Someone told me one time that I had learned how to live even in the midst of the situation. I think she was right. I have learned to slow down and enjoy an afternoon cup of tea (or coffee!!!). I try to get outside as much as possible because sunshine and fresh air are essential to a healthy life. Some days that means sitting on the patio so I can see Chris in the recliner through the window. But I'

Part of the Crowd

I took Chris to our local minor league baseball team's game yesterday. I must say I give the ballpark an A+ on accessibility. The parking guys pointed me to a handicap spot right near the gate. And from there, I just rolled him in and found our accessible seating - which just means a chair beside an empty spot for the wheelchair to fit in! It was great. He could see fine and even though it was a bit loud at times - it wasn't too loud for him. What joy fills my heart when I find things to do that are positive. As we sat and watched the game, we became part of the crowd. We were all watching the game and cheering on the home team. We had one purpose - besides being entertained, and that was to support the local team. We all cheered when our guys made a play. We hooped and hollered when one of them stole a base or hit a home run. It was so amazing to be part of something bigger than us - to be part of the community. It made me think about the crowds who followed Jesus and the w

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

Daily Devotions for Caregivers

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