Skip to main content

The Unseen

Image
By

chris and i standing at Red Rock Canyon, Oklahoma

 As caregivers, much of our day goes unseen. We may often get invites for various activities without anyone realizing what all it takes to get us there. For many of us, it's not as easy as just jumping in the car and heading out. Behind the scenes, there is a lot of planning that goes into the shortest, simplest trips, even to the grocery store. Over time, we can get our processes down so that it becomes a little easier - but others have no idea what all goes into it. 

The other day, I was trying to get home in time to tutor a student. They had already arrived by the time I got to my apartment. I felt so vulnerable as I unloaded my son from the van and took him inside. Like they were getting a minute view into my caregiving side. I felt so - uncovered. It was almost as uncomfortable as feeling naked in public. LOL - not quite, though. (blush)

So, it took a lot for me to start making a few reels around my caregiving tasks. It turns out that people respond well to it. I've not gotten any negative or derogatory remarks so far, at least. But it's really difficult to let people see some of the things I like to keep hidden as a caregiver. Of course, there are some things that will always be hidden, lol. Those unmentionables!! But it has turned out that it's kind of freeing to give people a window into the daily life of caregiving. (Now, if I could just get them to send stars, Lol!)

As I've worked through my own inhibitions, I realized that God gets a bird's eye view of every little detail. Nothing escapes His notice. He sees every move I make, every transfer, every meal prepped, every load of laundry, and every unmentionable. God is aware of my emotional roller coaster - nothing is missed. He knows when I am excited about new ideas, study guides, or videos. He also knows the nights I cry myself to sleep. He sees the unseen. God even sees all those emotions, tears, and feelings that no one could ever see. He gets me. He gets you. He gets us. And He sticks around anyway!

Isn't that the greatest fear for some of us? That if people really see our day, they will reject us? If they see us up to our elbows in all sorts of stuff, they may leave. Many have left already. So, we hide and try to act like our normal is normal. But we know it's not. And so does God.

Today, I will let Him see. (It's not really like I can keep Him from it anyway! Lol.) I'll open up my heart and pull back the curtains and know that He is looking at all of me. And I'll let it be "okay." I'll let Him touch that part of me that no one ever sees and some don't want to. Because as He sees - He heals. I'll just trust Him for today as I know He is watching over my whole being from the inside out. Will you join me?


_____________________________________________________________

31 Days in Psalm 31 devotional book cover


Check out my bookstores. I have eBook devotionals, Bible study guides, poetry, and more in my Dove's Fire Ministries bookstore. My Amazon bookshelf has a couple of those in print or on Kindle.





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ups and Downs

By
  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
Post a Comment
Read more

Seasons Are Temporary

By
  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
Post a Comment
Read more

Seek and Ye Shall Find

By
 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
Post a Comment
Read more