Understatement of the Year
As caregivers, we deal with a lot every single day. Many things we don't (or can't ) even talk to others about. Some things, we don't share out of fear; we can't let them think we are incompetent or incapable of providing care for our loved ones. Other things are just not cool to share, I know you know what I mean! We can have so much going on in our heads and our emotions, but we keep it tucked away inside. Society doesn't allow brutal honesty. Sometimes, it's because hearing one's deepest emotional struggles makes others feel like they need to do something, but we don't need anyone to do anything - we just need for them to hear us. But we keep things to ourselves in silence, mostly because others just won't "get" it.
This open and raw honesty is one of the things I've loved about the Psalms. I was reading Psalm 13, where David was pouring all his honest thoughts out before God. He was speaking some of the unmentionables caregivers aren't allowed to say. David said things like, How long will You look the other way while I have this anguish in my heart?
He went on to ask God, How long will you forget me? Forever?
Imagine all the raw emotions behind those questions. Most of us don't have to get very imaginative to get them. We've asked them, but not felt we could share that with others. But it is certainly comforting to "find ourselves" and the things we don't dare say out loud right there in the Bible, isn't it?
All of this came to mind as I found myself reading Romans 8:38. The NLT (1996) says this: Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. I've been thinking about that all week. Specifically, the fears for today and worries about tomorrow. That's the understatement of the year! If anything in scriptures relates to caregiving, it's this. And you know what? God gets us!
We know as believers, we are not supposed to fear or worry. Yet they so easily creep into our lives. And rightly so. We never know what a day will bring. Perhaps we see Paul's humanity in this phrase as he didn't know when his captors might decide his fate. We pray, hope and believe for the best every single day, but we really never know.
Worries for tomorrow? What caregiver doesn't do that? Lol. The most pressing quesiton I hear (from others AND myself) is the what if I can't..... question. Who will take care of my loved one when I'm gone, or God forbid, something happens to me physically. Not only does this drive us to take better care of ourselves, it also drives us to trust Him more.
Today, I will be content that God gets me. I'll remind myself that He understands all the (very many) emotional fluctuations of my day. And yet, he sticks around anyway! I trust He's got all my "fears" and "worries" covered and that He will meet me in every one of them and infuse His peace, mercy and grace into every situation I encounter today. When my thoughts try to run away, I will harness them with His word and let Him calm my raging soul as I trust Him for one more day. Will you joino me?
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Affirmations for Caregivers
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