Showing posts with label Bible character. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible character. Show all posts

The God Who Sees

It is difficult to understand the life of caregiving unless you are a caregiver. And even then, each situation is so very unique we do not always have the capacity to understand each others' situations. Sometimes it hurts most when those we think are supposed to care do not seem to. That can be family, friends or health care professionals. It's really frustrating when they don't get it. You know?

Sometimes one of the most frustrating things about caregiving is the inability to have a schedule. We can keep a shell of one, but it seems there's always something that comes along to disrupt it. Our loved one has a bad day, aides don't show up, nurses decide to come during the only time you were going to have to yourself for the week....yes that really happened! And the load becomes heavier...not even because of the caregiving itself, but because of all the baggage that comes along with caregiving.

This morning has been one of those mornings for me; made up of those situations that make the regular load just a little bit heavier. But my mind went to Hagar. She's not usually one of our favorites by any means even though the situation was not totally her fault. In Genesis 16 she bears some of the blame since she was taunting Sarah. I suppose I found it comforting that God met her where she was even though she was not perfect. Most of us did nothing wrong to end up in a caregiving situation, so I guess it makes the possibility of God seeking us out more likely! lol.

Hagar was distraught and had run away from her mistress who was treating her harshly.  She was pregnant (thank God that's not a factor!), being treated badly because she mouthed off, and was stuck out in the desert with no one to see after her. But God found her. It's not the encounter I want to focus on though, it's what she said afterwards. In Genesis 16:13 Hagar said, the God Who sees me."  She existed to God and that mattered.

Today I will meditate on the fact that I am not out here alone. That God does indeed see me; that will carry me through this day. He sees me...

Good Days N Bad Days

Life is made up of a series of good and bad days. Without either one it would be one boring journey. Think about your life if every day offered exactly the same emotions, feelings and happenings as the last. There was a movie about one day repeating itself over and over one time!

It's no different for the caregiver. Each day brings events that may range all the way from exhilarating to depressing. The irony of it is that we have to deal with that whole range of emotions, sometimes all in one day, while still fulfilling our roles as caregivers!

Our favorite Bible characters were no different. The Bible doesn't contain stories of super human people, some more progressive race of people. It is all about people just like you and me who dealt with their everyday lives just like we do today. But it tells us of how many of them stood through life as they endured their series of good and bad days.

I don't think Gideon was thinking about how good of a day he was having while having to hide to thrash wheat to provide for his family. David didn't seem to be having all good days while he was running from cave to cave hiding from Saul. We have to remember that God spared the three Hebrew children in the fire  not from it! Daniel did get thrown in the lion's den not kept out of it.

Our Bible heroes went through  something - or there would be no story to tell. The marvel isn't that they were spared hardship but rather that the stood in the midst of the trial. I'm not sure my story would be as faith-filled as theirs, but I do want the end to be that I stood through the storm rather than bending beneath the load. Today, remind yourself of your favorite Bible story and character. Think about what they went through that makes their story of faith so intriguing. Rest in the arms of the same God who carried them through as you realize He will carry you through (not always around) just as well as He carried them.

The Stare

  Do you ever just find yourself sitting and staring at the wall? It doesn't really happen too often because, quite frankly, who has tim...