Showing posts with label God's care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's care. Show all posts

Picking and Choosing?


This morning, I spent my devotional time preparing for the Facebook live devotions I do each morning. I was reading in Matthew 6:2 -34. Jesus was telling those listening to the Sermon on the Mount that they shouldn't worry about anything. He said to seek the Kingdom first - and all these things will be added. God knows what we need. 

After I finished the live session, I sat down at the computer to write this morning's devotion for caregivers. I know I should probably write a few ahead but I really like writing it each morning. It helps me focus for the day! 

I started thinking about how we talk a lot in this devotional about how we are complete in Him. We discuss how we still have all of His promises with nothing lacking. There are no exclusionary statements to limit caregivers' access to all of the blessings of God. I love that.

But then, I started thinking that if there are no exclusions for caregivers on the good stuff, then there are no exclusions on the requirements either. Well, we might not want to talk about that. lol. We really can't pick and choose though, right? Jesus didn't say everyone except caregivers should not worry about life, what they will wear, or what they will eat. Did He? Nope. Just like there are no exclusionary statements on all His goodness and blessings - there are none on His requirements.

Surely He knows how much harder that might be for us, right? We have all the "normal" things people worry about plus at least one other whole person to care for. Maybe He just forgot to mention that we are the only ones allowed to worry. I guess not.

We still must seek His kingdom first in our lives - even if it doesn't quite look like others' lives. We still must bring Him all our cares and anxious thoughts (though they are many!). But His peace will still guard our hearts and minds too! There's the good stuff. He will still feed us. He will still clothe us - and our caregivee! 

Today, I will thank Him for including caregivers and not excluding us from all His promises AND responsibilities. I can thank Him for taking care of my needs and still continue to refrain from worrying since I know He's got me. He's got you. When worry tries to pop its ugly head up today, I will remind myself that God's still got this. He is my (our) provider and He still hasn't changed His mind! So, I can trust Him for one more day - will you join me?

To Be Loved

 


Most of us care for a loved one and it's all out of the love we have for them. My son is nonverbal. He makes some sounds and can definitely let me know when he doesn't like what I'm doing. lol - I do not know where he is mentally, I can only make assumptions. I also don't know how his thinking processes are working since he cannot tell me. One thing I tell him over and over is that I love him.

One of my deepest desires is for him to feel loved. I want him to know how much I want to take care of him and provide for him. But mostly, I want him to feel loved. Over and over every day I tell him he is loved. Every task and every chore is due to the love I have for him. I'm sure as caregivers, you can relate. 

As much as I love my son, and we love our caregivees, it can still be difficult to communicate that love even though every action is bathed in love for them.

That makes me think about our Father. 1 John 3:1 says behold the manner of love the Father has bestowed on us - that we should be called His sons. (children for those who need gender neutrality.)We are God's children and He loves us. And like our actions as caregivers communicates our love for our caregivee, God's every action toward us or on our behalf is motivated and driven by His love for us.

I wonder sometimes if God desires for us to know how much He loves us. I so want Chris to feel loved - does God feel that way toward us? Is it His deep desire for us to know we are loved? We are cherished. We are cared for and provided for. Is He as intense in His desires as I feel toward Chris? Probably. 

Zephaniah 3:17 says He will quiet us with His love. He will joy over us with singing. God rejoices over us and helps us find rest as we accept and walk in His great love for us.

Today, I will meditate on how passionately God cares for me. Each time I try to express it to my son - I'm going to accept the same from God. My meditation will be on the truth that He loves us so much - that He cannot even help it! :-) I'll purposefully quiet my soul today and rest in His love for me. Will you join me?


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The Failure

 


Do you ever feel overwhelmed? I ask this question partly in jest because as caregivers it's a definite "all the time" answer, right? Many nights, I feel like a failure. Actually, most nights as I am preparing to collapse into the bed, all the things I didn't get done dance through my head. I think of all those things left on today's to-do list that will remain on tomorrow's new list. 

As caregivers, there are so many demands made on us every day. Recently, my son has been ill so this increased doctor visits, nurse visits, etc. I know you know the drill. Scheduling these necessary things on already crowded days can totally overwhelm a person who is already overwhelmed, adding to the negative thoughts of being a failure.

Recently, I've learned to identify these negative thoughts as soon as they begin. I start telling myself, "I may not have got this and that done today. But I did get this, this, that, and something else done today." I remind myself that I didn't do "nothing" today. Caregivers have no days where they do nothing, right? It's a busy life no matter what our situations or circumstances. 

As these thoughts were running through my mind this morning, I found myself in scripture. I'm reading in the New Living Translation, and in Psalm 73:22 I find this scripture. Asaph, the psalmist says, I was so foolish and ignorant, I must have seemed like a senseless animal to You." In context, he is comparing his life with others. That's another trap caregivers fall into. It can seem like everyone else gets to "play" but we are trapped in a caregiver's cave. 

But here's what I want to focus on. The next verse says this, Yet I still belong to You, You are holding my right hand. You will keep on guiding me with Your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Asaph goes on to say, My health may fail and my spirit may grow weak (was he a caregiver too?) but God remains the strength of my heart, He is mine forever. 

What a comfort to know that He continues to walk this journey called life with us. When we feel like we have failed, are feeling overwhelmed, feeling like we are missing out, or any of the other wide range of emotions - He is still holding our hands, and He won't let go. 

Today, instead of focusing on feeling like I never do enough - I'm going to look to the one Who does it all! I'll meditate on how He holds my right hand as I journey through caregiving,  My heart will be set on the truth that He is still leading me and how He has good planned for me and my loved one. While my flesh is weak today - I'll trust in His strength that constantly holds me up. I will trust Him for today - will you join me?

The Best Meeting

 


I know I've written quite a few times about Hagar, but her story intrigues me. I think I can relate to the rejection and loneliness she must have felt. In numerous devotions, I've talked about how God met her right where she was. She did have God "find" her twice. But there are other people in the scriptures that God met too.

The list is a bit longer when we start thinking about how many times God met someone along the way. Twice He came and ministered to Hagar, He met Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), He met Balaam and stopped him before he sinned against God (Numbers 22). Jesus went through Samaria on purpose to speak with the woman at the well. He crossed two taboos in their time - going through Samaria and speaking to a woman! (John 4) He walked out to the disciples in a storm in Matthew 8. And the Angel of God came to Gideon when he was hiding from the Midianites in Judges 6.

It's easy for today's religious thinkers to label these Bible characters with negative terms and ideas. Gideon is often said to have no faith - but he is listed in Hebrews 11 among the faith giants. The disciples in the storm are obviously frightened. the woman in Samaria was a woman and unmarried - not worth anything to the religious leaders of the day. Hagar was rejected and we often hear Ishmael mentioned as a curse instead of a blessing. Saul was busy killing Christians. But God chose to meet each of these.

In Isaiah 64:4b-5 it says: ...nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him. You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers You in Your ways.

God goes out of His way to meet us. He didn't have to meet any of the above-mentioned people. He chose to. He went to those who were rejected and condemned by religion. He sought out those who thought they were beyond hope, beyond reach. Sometimes as a caregiver, the isolation tries to suffocate. It is easy to feel alone- because often - we are. It's easy to feel neglected or rejected by society because too many times- we are. But God will meet us - right where we are in our caregiving messes! lol

We can still wait for Him and He still acts on our behalf. He chooses to meet us in our pain, confusion, and even in our doubts and fears. He calms us, soothes us, comforts us, and often carries us. (Maybe it's just me!) It's the best meeting ever!

Today, I will look for Him to meet me right where I am. I will purposefully wait for Him today and look for Him in my day-to-day. My thoughts will be on how He chooses to walk this journey with me - He won't abandon. He won't reject. He remains faithful even in caregiving. I'll watch Him move in my life today - will you join me in waiting on Him today?


                                                                                                                                          


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Be Still...Still Be

I meditate a lot on Psalm 46:10 which says to, Be still and know I am God. I even wrote a little song about it and lately, I've sung it quite a bit. Many of the blog posts on this devotional for caregivers are focused on just being still and knowing He is God. He is the one constant in the caregiver's life; the one thing (person) that doesn't change in what can be a very fluid life.

This morning I started thinking about this verse and my thoughts led me to how He is a shelter for me. He's the only place I can run to and find peace, hope, and unconditional love. My thoughts turned to running to Him and I thought, I don't have anywhere else to run to. Then, I thought, I am not looking for someplace else to run to. Lol. Even those times when faith is wearing thin and I cannot seem to find Him in my day-to-days, I still run back to Him. I do not have a safer place to run to.

Even in the thick caregiver's fog, I still keep running to Him. My "be still" and know turned into "I will still be...."

  • I will still be running to Him
  • I will still be trusting Him
  • I will still be seeking Him
  • I will still be looking to Him for strength.....
I will still be.... - you fill in the blank. No matter how dark the night gets, He will still be our light. No matter how treacherous life's road gets, He will still be our guide. No matter how stormy life's seas get, He will still be our peace. 

Today, I'm going to meditate on my still be... as well as His still be's. I will turn my thoughts to how He continues to provide, care for and take care of me and I'll be grateful. And I am thankful He didn't send me off on this difficult journey alone, He chose to walk it with me. Aren't you glad He doesn't abandon or forsake us when it gets ugly or hard? My thoughts today will be on how He will still be faithful...as I trust Him for one more day. will you join me.

Taming a Hippopotamus

The account of creation in the final chapters of Job are among my favorite scriptures. To hear the account of creation from God's point of view is nothing less than powerful. All of a sudden, Job and his friends are silent as God begins to describe His handiwork in words they could understand. And as He gives us intimate details of His creation, that only the creator could know - I am awed once again by His power and wisdom.

This morning as I was reading the questions God was asking Job, I turned them around to statements of action. These are some restatements of the way God handled creation in my own words:

  • He calculated and measured earth's dimensions
  • He set boundaries for the waters of the earth and told them they could "go no further"
  • He commanded the morning to appear
  • He knows where light comes from...and where darkness goes when light appears
  • He knows where the seas "come from"
  • He ensures the proper sequence of the seasons
  • He placed the constellations - and they are still there 
  • He shouts to the clouds and makes it rain
  • He knows when the wild animals give birth
It is just so powerful  to hear the first-hand account of creation and its continuation from the One who instigated it all! I've read this passage numerous times and it reminds me of how huge and wise God really is, and how frail I really am. Yet He beckons me to come into fellowship with Him. He measured the waters of the earth out and put them right where He wanted them - and then told them to stay put. He spoke and light burst forth from somewhere - only He knows its origin. He set the earth on its axis at just the right angle, at just the right distance from the sun to sustain life. 

While I was in awe of all His mighty work and letting my imagination run wild with pictures of how glorious creation must have been, He shifts and asks Job to look at the hippopotamus. My mind is like what? It's such a funny animal. No one really wants a hippopotamus for a pet - it's not all cute-n-cuddly; it's massive and bulky. But God speaks of His creation rather fondly.

God says the hippopotamus is mighty and then He adds I made the hippopotamus just as I made you. (Job 40:15) He describes a powerful, muscular animal - that eats grass like an ox, or a cow. This massive beast doesn't tear animals limb from limb for sustenance - it eats grass. Yet nothing messes with a hippopotamus - He says Only its creator can threaten it. It lies down where it wants - it eats when and where it wants - it's not afraid of water - you can't catch it off guard and no one has tamed a hippopotamus! (Job 40:24) Sounds like one of our most ignored animal friends is well loved by the Creator. 

If God can care for a hippopotamus - and knows it in such intimate detail, how much more does He care for us and know what our days look like? Psalm 139 tells us He is acquainted with all our ways. He knows exactly what the caregiver's day looks like. He knows the struggles and triumphs, the emotions and lack of them, the tiredness and energy - all the minute by minute ebbs and flows that are associated with caregiving. He knows how much we trust, or don't trust Him. He is aware of our patience - or lack thereof! 

And in all this - He stands with heart and hands outstretched longing for us to come to Him and rest. I'm thinking if the hippopotamus can trust God for sustenance and care - so can I! If He knows all the actions of a hippopotamus, how much more does He know the ins and outs of our days? 

Today I will think about how intimately God knows me. I'll think about how He can see right into my heart and sense my deepest emotions - and I'm okay with that and so is He. I'll think about how He does not discard me when I get frustrated. He patiently waits for me. My meditations will be on how much effort He takes to communicate to me how much He loves me, how much He cares. I'll make today a deep breath day - and I will rest in him. Will you join me?

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...