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It's Complicated

chris enjoying being outside

 Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Lol - who am I kidding? Maybe a better question would be if you ever have a moment when you don't feel overwhelmed. There are so many elements to caregiving, it's easy to be swept away just trying to organize them. Sometimes, it can feel like there's not even room to breathe. Even now, as I am typing up this devotion, the nurse calls with questions. Lol. There's no end - and it is complicated.

Here's the good news, we don't have to figure everything out. At some point, we'll have to be content and realize some questions won't ever have an answer. We have to stay focused on our day-to-days, right? Dressing, feeding, transferring, standing, and bathing are just a few of our duties. Then, there are doctor appointments, therapy visits, and tons of other surprises. And don't forget to read your Bible every day. Sigh. Why do we feel like a failure when we can't get every single thing in every single day? We are still human, after all. It's complicated being a human.

Yet, we tend to condemn ourselves if we can't get everything in. You know what? God's not sitting up in the heavens on His golden throne holding a golden timer to see how long we read our Bibles or devotions this morning. His promises don't end if we don't read enough or pray enough by man's standards. How much would be enough anyway? He's not turning us away with our unanswered requests because we didn't pray or study for an allotted time this morning. He gets us. Even God knows life is complicated.

I am a Word person, and I do lessons on how to study the Bible. I wrote a whole devotional to help people create the habit of daily Bible reading. But our promises don't expire if we hit the ground running in the morning and there isn't any time to carve out. God won't tell us to come back later after we've read 3 chapters or prayed 5 minutes. Lol. He just bids us to come and bring our complicated, messy lives with us. Then, He gives us peace. He reminds us that His grace is enough to carry us through. He doesn't have a limit on how much He can handle - because He can handle it all, from what seems tiny and insignificant to one person to the biggest, baddest, hardest details of our complicated lives! He wants it all. He'll trade us His peace for our worries and concerns. Every.Single.Time.

Today, I will rest in His promises and trust that He knows how to navigate the crazy emotions and thoughts I work through each day. I'll trust that His peace can wiggle right through all the worries, pains, griefs, and struggles of my day. And I'll shift my focus off all the complicated messiness, and toward His peace that passes understanding. I will take a deep breath and trust Him for one more crazy day! Will you join me?

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