Skip to main content

Every Single Time

Image
By

 

My grandson Eli walking beside Chris in his chair on the Draper trails

Caregivers can be so easily ignored. Or at least, that's been my experience. Only other caregivers have a clue about what goes on during our normal days. And even then, our stories are all so unique there's not really a comparison. But we do share some things like social isolation or living grief. Ultimately, we each must find our own path of faith and learn to trust God in our various caregiving circumstances. But just because God is "along for the ride" doesn't mean there are no bumps in the road.

I've been studying Exodus this week, and this morning, in my reading, I was looking at their horrible attitudes. Lol. Sadly, I can often relate. God brought them through the Red Sea - but it didn't mean they would never face difficult situations again. He fed them manna and provided water at leas two times so far. Just because He provided water once didn't mean they would never need it again.

I was thinking about all these things and their ups and downs across the wilderness. Then, my mind strayed over into the New Testament. Remember when Jesus calmed the storm? Which time? In the NT, Jesus calmed the storm two times. One time, He came walking on the water, and the other time, they woke Him up because He was sleeping in the boat in the storm. Just because He calmed one storm - didn't mean they'd never go through another one. Just because He brought the Israelites through the Red Sea didn't mean He'd never need to part the water again. What I took from that is that He is there for us and with us every single time.

Life has ebbs and flows. Our days, even hours, can have tons of ups and downs wrapped up in them. But I've found that God is there for every single emotional fluctuation - and I have a LOT of them! I'm so glad He didn't just part one sea, calm one storm, or provide bread only one time - actually, He did that MANY times! Maybe it was so we could look back from 2023 and see that He would be there with us and for us every single time through every single circumstance.

Today, I'll remind myself that God hasn't run out of miracles. He hasn't checked them off some exhaustive "things I've already done" list, with no repeats in sight. My thoughts will be on how He continues to carry me through each circumstance and diffuse it with grace and mercy. My meditations will be on how He remains with me through the hard times and rescues my soul over and over again. And I'll be thankful for that today. Will you join me?



                                                                                                                                    


Would You Like to Help Dove's Fire Ministries?

Maybe you've wondered about helping support all that goes on at DFM. One way is to shop my Amazon bookstore, which has devotionals, Bible study guides, and more that I have written.

You can also donate via PayPal at paypal.me/dovesfireministries 
Or you can donate via CashApp: $JeanieOlinger
Or if you have Venmo my ID is:@Mary-Olinger-6

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

The Practical Side of Caregiving

By
 This week, I've been reading the book of Acts. I am enjoying the journey of the early church. Can you imagine what it would be like if your church saw 5000 people saved in a day? Mass chaos would ensue as leadership tried to figure out how to serve that many people! It'd be great and difficult at the same time - kind of like caregiving. Lol. But yesterday, I got stuck in Acts 9 thinking about a practical caregiving issue. In verse 32, we read that Peter was traveling around and encouraging all the new believers. He came to the town of Lydda. Verse 33 says in the NLT, There he (Peter) met a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. Now, the next verses talk about how Peter proclaimed healing, and the man just got up! That's so amazing. But my brain got stuck on some of the practical parts. Aeneas was paralyzed and bedridden. My mind compared the situation to my son, of course, even though he's not "paralyzed." I started wondering
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
2 comments
Read more