There is nothing that comes close to the beauty of caregiving. It all comes down to one person who is willing to lay down their own life and set aside their own comforts for another. That's a beautiful picture. But as caregivers, we also know that all the aspects of caregiving aren't beautiful. There are some tough things, rough times, and lots of unmentionables that go on in a typical day. Some things are too deep to talk about. Other things are not socially acceptable topics. You know, the stuff you can't talk about with the family around the dinner table. :-)
Some things we must remain silent on and just trust that God sees it all. However, I found something shocking in the Bible this morning. Well, it wasn't exactly in the Bible, but in the Strong's definition of a term used in Psalms. It covers our unmentionables.
My reading this morning took me to Psalm 66. In verse 12, it says we went through the fire and through water - but you brought us out into abundance. (my loose paraphrase.) I was actually using the Strong's to look up "abundance." I wondered what that would mean naturally - and for me personally, too.
While I was there, I thought I'd hit fire and water. Maybe there were some unusual insights that would be enlightening. I think I blushed, actually. The fire was just fire, heat, or burning. No surprise there. But water? It's a primitive root that could be anything liquid. Anything. Oh sure, it means water, flood, spring, or even juice. But the Strong's said by euphemism (urine) semen. I'm sure my mouth dropped open, and like I said, I'm pretty sure I blushed. As I gathered my thoughts, I came to the conclusion that this term pretty much covered it.
It covers all the icky, yucky, unmentionable parts of caregiving, including all those things we don't want to come past our lips - not even in prayer. He brings us through the waters that are too hard, too deep, can't be mentioned, and no one sees (thankfully) or understands but us and God. God has us covered in the beautiful moments, teary-eyed moments, and nitty-gritty down-and-dirty moments of caregiving.
Today, I am thankful that God never closes His eyes. He sees us. He hears our hearts break. He doesn't close His eyes...He knows. God isn't put off by our circumstances; instead, He chooses to walk through them with us, even when they get dirty. I'll turn my thoughts to His loving, watching care of my heart in all the nitty-gritty of caregiving, and I'll be grateful that He sees and knows and still chooses to hang out with me! Today - I'll focus on His desire to be near me in all things, and I'll trust Him for one more day - will you join me?
Thank you for your posts. I am facing the loss of my father as he slowly begins to make his departure from this world to the next. He knows where he is going and so do I, but nonetheless, it's hard to shed the emotions from this matter of faith. I feel like God is with me through all of these steps and helping me care for both my parents in the later years. Your posts have been a companion of immense comfort during some very hard times. Your honesty and compassion are inspirational and help me accept the role that I am blessed to have taken on at this stage in my life. Thank you and God bless!
ReplyDeleteHi Jay. I'm so sorry you're dealing with all this, but so thankful that you know God is with you through all the steps. Emotions are our natural responses and God "gets" us! Thank you for sharing a portion of your journey with us. I'm glad you've found the devotions helpful in some small way! Thank you for reading - my prayers for you and your family.
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