Not That Important

 One of my biggest pet peeves is people parking in handicapped spots when they don't have placards. To me, it communicates that they don't care about anyone but themselves, and they have no compassion for those who don't have the mobility to get around easily or need a bit more help than able-bodied individuals. In some ways, it communicates that we just are not important. And that is interpreted in my mind as no one cares.

There are many other things in the caregiver's life that communicate we are not that important.  It's easy to find ourselves walking this journey alone with very little to no outside help, inadequate help (I've been through aids!!!), and tons of other areas where we feel great lack. No wonder we deal with caregiver burnout day after day. Especially since there is not usually any relief in sight.

When everything around you is screaming that you are not important, you are not valued, you are not worth it - God says, Stop! We have great value to God, even if we don't feel valued or important to people or society.

Psalm 34:18 reminds us that God is near the brokenhearted. The old KJV translates it as those who are of a broken heart. Broken in Hebrew can mean several things - all of which I think we can relate to. Break, in pieces, broken, crush, hurt, destroy, quench, tear...yup- that about sums it up, doesn't it. The lives we knew BC (before caregiving) are gone, washed away with the tide of caring for another whole person. However, instead of letting the reality of the crushing get me down, I can rejoice that I know God in a whole new way.

BC, I thought it was all about avoiding bad things and God being that "saving" hero that rides in on a white horse and whisks us away from what scares, hurts, or harms us. Boy, did I have a skewed view of "faith." Faith does save us, but not by whisking us away. It saves us by walking in the furnace with us. Showing up in the lion's den and staying all night. And sitting in the back of the cave with us until we can get ourselves back together enough to function. God still keeps our souls - period. Yes, and amen. He doesn't abandon our souls to destruction - ever. Not even when we end up walking through the tough stuff life throws at us.

Today, I'll remind myself that God is with me in this storm. He may be sleeping in my boat on the tossing seas of life. Or He may come walking to me on the rugged waters of life - but He is in my here. He is in my now. I'll think about how His mercies were made new for me this morning - just for today. My meditations will be on how He equips me with grace enough to face this day and that He will not leave me stranded emotionally, and that He'll never leave me alone. I love Him for that. I think I can trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?

Check out my latest release. Command Your Morning is a 31-day devotional that is focused on taking charge of your soul and day in the morning and trusting God that the rest of the day will follow suit! You can get the eBook from my shop at Buy Me A Coffee. Or the kindle version is available in my Amazon Shop.

The print version will take a few days to get formatted and uploaded - but it's coming soon!!!!