The Bruised Reed

 Caregiving is not for the weak at heart! No matter what our unique situations encompass, it's rough all the way around. We all have different scenarios, which means we really cannot compare one with another. But we all carry an emotional load. We all have to rely on God. There are other common threads including social isoloation (one degree or another), grief, feelings of loss and a disruption of "normal" living. Our souls can become bruised by the turmoil that comes with the day-to-day.

I was working through a few things this morning on emotional and practical levels, trying to come up with some solutions. As a long sigh suprised me by escaping without any forethought, for one moment, I felt lost. My soul bore the weight of the last 16 years as some of it snuck out. I wondered about all my caregiving friends and prayed for our bruised souls. Then, I thought of the phrase in Isaiah 42:3 - A bruised reed He will not break... 

What kind of gentleness is needed to not break off a bruised reed? My soul needs that gentleness today. Does yours?

That made me think of a song we used to sing when we were kids - pass me not O gentle savior, hear my humble cry... I grabbed a hymnal and looked it up! Then, I grabbed my guitar and sang through the entire hymn. It is full of raw emotion.. a heart seeking God, and asking to not be passed by. Verse three says, heal my wounded, broken spirit... I related and another sigh escaped.

Then, I looked at who wrote this hymn. It was written by an all-time favorite, Fanny Crosby. She became blind as a 6-week old infant when the doctors mistreated an eye infection. No one would have blamed her, especially in the late 1800s if she had given up. But she didn't. Like you, my caregiver friends, she just kept seeking God in her adverse circumstances. BTW, there were no "accommodations" for the blind in those days. She lived to be 94 years of age, all of them spent without her eyesight due to a mistake.

She could have been bitter. (We can too, if we want!) She could have been angry, and maybe she was from time to time, like us. But in just this one hymn, of the 8000+ songs she wrote, we see her broken before God. She is open and real about her pain, her brokenness, and her need for a gentle touch of the Savior she grew to love, and can now see! 

Today, my prayer is that we can receive the gentle touch we need from our Savior. He is gentle enough to touch our bruised souls without breaking us. My thoughts will be on how He hears our cries, even the ones we don't let escape. I'll think about how He swoops in and scoops up our broken souls and speaks life when we are sure we are done. Today, I'll thank Him for hearing my feeble cries and for answering my desparate calls for help. I will lean into my gentle Savior a bit closer today and listen for His heart as it beats for me - 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 print and Kindle versions are now available in my Amazon Shop.