So Many Start Agains
How many times a day do you have to hit the “restart” button? Too many to count? Lol. Just life, outside of caregiving, can put a demand on us to restart a lot, right? But for caregivers, every day can be a series of restarts. We never know when something is going to throw a wrench in our plan. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hesitant to plan too many things since I never know if I'll be able to follow through or not. Just this week, we had a quick run to the ER. Our days can get mixed up and unruly so fast that it's a constant struggle to keep our hearts, faith, and hope intact.
So here we are day after day restarting our faith journey. Or is that just me?
It really doesn't even take too sharp of a turn for me to be questioning if God really sees all “this.” I can't tell you how many times I've looked up to heaven with tear-stained cheeks and asked, Are you still looking, God? Do you see what's happening here?
Usually, I turn to Psalm 13 for my "restarts." I love how David is pouring out his heart before God - open, honest and raw! He starts with a barrage of questions for God.
How long will You forget me, Lord?
How long will You look the other way?
How long will I struggle with an anguished, pained soul?
How long will this sorrow be in my heart, every day? (yes)
How long will I feel like I'm losing? (Every day? yes.)
I can't tell you how often these have been my questions, too. They come up often, actually. It's okay to bring it all to Him. We are allowed to be as open and honest and raw as we can allow ourselves to be with God. I love that He won't condemn or judge us. He will comfort us - if we let Him.
The last two verses in this short psalm are powerful too as David resolves again to trust God in the middle of the messy nights. He restarts his soul by declaring, But, I trust in your mercies and unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me (my soul - because he was still sitting in a cave!) I will sing to the Lord because He is still good to me. Even in the mess of caregiving. Even in the raw and real emotions. Even in the dark night of the soul. God is still with us - and He remains good, even if life is not! We can take that to the bank!
Today, I'll push my restart button again by faith. I will continue reminding myself that God is here and He's not going anywhere. He will stay with me on this crazy roller-coaster ride called caregiving. He won't jump ship, He won't opt out, and He won't go to sleep on me. He will remain patiently with me as we navigate the ups and downs of trusting Him with caregiving. My declaration is that I will trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?
_______________________________________________
Affirmations for Caregivers
Comments
Post a Comment