Twists and Turns

 

As caregivers, we never know what a day will bring. It can make it very difficult to make plans because we never know if we'll be able to keep them or not. Just last week, everything was going great and we had to make an afternoon run to the ER. Of course, it all turned out okay - by the afternoon was sucked away. As if caregiving wasn't exhausting enough, there are those little twists and turns in our kind of crazy normals that can suck the life right out of you. Am I alone?!

One of the things I've recently come to appreciate even more about God is that He takes it all. He is our rock (Psalm 18:1-2, Psalm 61:1-3). But nowhere in the Bible does it say that God is an either-or advocate. We can run to our Rock with all our concerns, sadness, and pain. At the same time, we can run to Him with our joys, thanksgivings, and wins. He doesn't say He will take one or the other - He takes both - absolutely all of it.

He is there to dry the last tear we can squeeze out over a loss or grief. But He is just as there when we are shouting because of a great victory. As caregivers, we are allowed to have victories, you know. Sometimes, just making it through another day is victory enough. Life is made up of all these highs and lows, twists and turns, and ins and outs - no one knows that more than the caregiver, right?!

We don't have to make an appointment with God for our sorrow at a certain time. We know it can hit at any point. And it hits hard. Living grief is so not talked about enough. A Facebook memory, a phone call, a photo on our phones, and our emotions can bottom out. I often "brag" that my emotions can go from the epitome of joy to the bottom of despair in less than a second - and it doesn't take much. 

No matter what kinds of twists and turns a day brings, God has us covered. We can run to our Rock and know confidently that we will not be turned away. There's nothing too high or too low for Him to help us navigate, carry, or adjust to. He's got us!

Today, I'll remind myself that God really is in it with me. He is invested in my soul (in our souls), and He is taking care of that investment. My thoughts will be on how I can bring Him literally anything and everything without the fear of being turned away or rejected. That brings me a measure of peace, which I will choose to embrace today which has already been filled with numerous ups and downs. I know He's got me - He's got us. So, I can trust Him for one more day, will you join me?

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Paperback, Kindle, or eBook

Affirmations for Caregivers contains an affirmation, a verse or two to read, and a prompt for a very short response for each day for a month or 31 days.  You can download the eBook from the Dove's Fire Ministries Bookstore right now and print it and start today! The print version is also now available on Amazon! Check it out!