Assimilated to Normal

 

Caregivers are acquainted with grief and loss in many ways. Some of us became caregivers following a tragedy. Sometimes, we kind of grow into caregiving as parents or other loved ones begin to age. It is quite the transition for caregiving to become our norm as it begins to shape and rearrange our lives and whole worlds. People tend to show compassion at first. As life went on, everyone went back to living life; we were at a standstill. It took time to find a new normal. But we all did.

Once caregiving became our norm, it's like everyone else just moved on - it was normal for us to be in the cave! Lol. They got used to it. They assimilated us into their normal. But our entire worlds changed. We'd never be the same. For many caregivers, it's a very lonely walk. Others have friends or family members who help out. But it is still a different life for many.

We can get so used to going it alone that even if someone asks if they can help on those extremely rare (if they even exist) occasions, we get nothing but a shrug and an anything-but-normal life.

If we look back at our Bible heroes, I think we'll see that God worked with ordinary people. People who didn't have normal lives either! My first thoughts go to Moses. He was on the back side of the wilderness because he didn't fit in with his Hebrew kinsmen or the Egyptians who raised him. He wasn't sure which side to identify with, and it cost him. Moses was on the run because he killed a man and was afraid of repercussions from both sides. But God used Moses. In fact, He came to Moses in his favorite hiding spot.

I thought about Paul, too. He wasn't "normal" for their day. He was going around killing Christians, and God had to meet him on the road to Damascus with a bright, blinding light to get his attention. After his conversion, Paul was kind of in limbo. He no longer fit in with the religious group, and the church was afraid of him. He kind of sat there betwixt and between..., but God used his very abnormal life in a huge way.

Another great, un-normal person in the Bible is David. His daddy didn't even call him to the meal when Samuel, the prophet, asked him to bring all his sons in to the meal because one was to be anointed king. But God knew. Thank God for Samuel's sensitivity to listening to God! David spent years on the run while the reigning king chased him around, trying to kill him. That's a character builder, right!? But once it was all said and done, he volunteered to be a caregiver for Miphibosheth, Jonathan's crippled son. Unheard of in their day, yet Miphibosheth was invited to eat perpetually at King David's table. Uncommon grace. 

Our lives may never be assimilated into true normal. But God is with us whether we are walking the lonely road, hiding in the desert, or living in the palace. We have His uncommon grace and you can't normalize grace because the whole intent of grace is to go beyond the normal and into the godly. I love that about God.

Today, I'll remind myself that God sees. He knows. He extends His hand, His heart, and His grace to whatever "spot" I am in. And He is still with me. My meditations will be on how He remains with me no matter what, and He's not going anywhere. I'll take some time today to briefly reflect on this caregiving journey and I'll look for those times when He showed up when I needed Him most. I'll remind myself that He's always come through - even when I went into the day kicking and screaming. God extends uncommon grace into our un-normal circumstances and matches it hand for hand! I'm so thankful for that! And I know that I can trust Him for one more day. Are you with 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 print and Kindle versions are now available in my Amazon Shop.