This morning, after reading several passages about peace to prepare for my live devotions, I landed in a familiar place. There I sat, sipping my coffee and reading Philippians 4:13 over and over again. Most of us memorized it as a kid. It's one of those that we pull out when our lives get out of hand, right? I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. That, along with Romans 8:28, are believers' go-to scriptures for all things we don't understand.
I backed up and read the few verses before verse 13 to remind myself that Paul was talking about his life. He was explaining that he'd seen times of plenty and times of lack; he'd had great needs and abundance. I thought about how that might relate to caregiving. We have times when we are flying high, and things seem to be going well. Then we have times that we can feel like we are at the bottom of life, trying to resurface for a breath. The funny thing for caregivers is that these emotional highs and lows can happen within minutes of one another. Or maybe that's just me.
Here's to hoping that we get used to life's sucker punches, but I'm not sure I ever will. I do rebound a little more quickly these days, it seems, though. Paul is saying that whether we have it all together, have everything we need, or we feel lack - we still have His strength backing us up. As he described the ebbs and flows of his life, I felt like I could relate. Even though I've never been in a shipwreck, my emotions certainly have! And every single time, God has picked me back up, dusted me off, and given me the strength to take one more step. When I have felt like I even lacked the strength to trust Him - He has always come through. I am so glad that I do not rely on myself to make it. And I am thankful that He continues to pick me up and dust me off as needed - daily. :-)
Today, I will remind myself that His strength empowers me to be like Him. My thoughts will be on how He continues to watch out for and watch over my soul - no matter how damaged it feels. My meditations will be on His faithfulness to this weary time traveler. I'll continue to put my hope and trust in Him because He gets me - and loves me anyway! Will you join me?
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