Unexpected
Sometimes, things don't turn out like we thought they would. Life doesn't look like we expected. Caregiving can be one of those unexpected turns we never saw coming. No one grows up planning on being a caregiver, right? It is one of the stops in life's journey. I certainly didn't think I'd enter my retirement years caring for an adult child. I had already raised my kids. But accidents and the unexpected happen.
I wondered this morning about some of my Bible heroes. I thought about David, sitting in the back of the cave hiding from Saul. He had already been anointed as king by the prophet Samuel. But he's sitting in the back of a dark, dank cave just to save his life. I'm pretty sure that wasn't the picture of how his life was going to turn out. David envisioned sitting on the throne wearing a crown on his head. Instead, he's crouched and hiding. Definitely unexpected.
God gave Joseph some prophetic dreams as a young man. His own dad interpreted them and laughed. Will I and your brothers bow down to you? Maybe he wasn't sure how that would all play out or look on the stage of life. But one thing is sure - it didn't bring up images of years of slavery and false imprisonment. Joseph had lots of time to think about it while he was sitting in the prison. I'm pretty sure he hadn't figured in that part of the story.
Maybe caregiving was an unexpected occurrence in your life. It certainly was in mine. I remember sitting in the ICU waiting room for the first three weeks after my son's accident and wondering what the future looked like. I would have never dreamed I'd bring him "home" at that point. I didn't even have a home to bring him to. But as I walked out the day-to-days, God continued to lay the path. My part in life's play was to just keep following Him and letting Him paint the story.
Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts; don't lean on our own understanding. Seek His will in all we do, and He will direct our paths. (NLT) That means that I keep running back to Him with my emotionally overloaded self all day long. All evening long. All night long. It's such a short journey back to the One who is going to carry us.
Today, I'll remind myself that God is present to help, even when I feel overloaded and overwhelmed. Nothing is too big or too small for His attention. He'll carry it all - when he picks me up. I'll think about how He is always right here with me - no matter what my here feels or looks like. He's got me covered and I cannot run out of chances to run to Him. And that's exactly what I will do today as I trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?
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31 Days in Psalm 31
David was open and honest about his feelings and he tended to give everything to God, even when he was hiding in the back of a cave. What's it like to spend time in the back of a cave with God? David gives us a glimpse in Psalm 31 and that's where this devotional is taken from. Grab a paper copy or a Kindle copy from Amazon!
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Affirmations for Caregivers
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