Daily Devotions for Caregivers

Have you ever had someone tell you they admire you and how they think you, as a caregiver, are so strong ? It happens all the time - but I really don't feel strong at all. It feels  like I am just surviving and not doing that very well some days. And then sometimes, like this weekend while on our first big walking adventure - I notice people looking at us with such sympathy - like they feel so sorry for us and our situation. How people see a caregiver relies a lot on the types of life experiences they have had themselves. Maybe they have had their shot at caregiving and they feel like it takes an enormous amount of strength. Or maybe some have never been in the position and think there's no way they could do it. (I was in that class BC - before caregiving. ) The truth is we may not feel strong at all - but others likely see us that way. We know as caregivers that we have moments where we can take on the world. These usually occur after winning a loooong fight with a healt...

There are a couple of passages that really bothered me for a long time because they contained similar questions which brought about very different responses by God. Both of the questions  are in some way asking, where is God? That's actually a question I have asked many times. If God is near why has all this happened? Why am I suffering? Why doesn't it seem like He's answering my cries? Those questions usually pop up on long, dark nights when my son is having some sort of issue that it appears God does not care about. I hate to tell you (assuming you've asked similar questions at least once), but others have already had the same question go through their minds - we're not original at all! Finding people in the Bible who've asked similar questions is not difficult at all really. (Check out Psalm 13) But in Exodus 17 and Judges 6 the same question came up. The children of Israel asked Moses , Is God with us or not? It says that they tested God by asking if H...

The story of Gideon in Judges 6 has always fascinated me. Here is Gideon determined to not let the enemy have his crops. The scene opens with him hiding from the Midianites and this angel appears and actually calls him a man of valor. Could he not see that Gideon was in hiding ? The fact was that Gideon was hiding from the enemy - the truth was that inside he was a mighty warrior. We've given him a bum rap all these years over the facts and forgot about the truth that God saw concerning Gideon. The facts for a caregiver are that we feel very incapable at times, feel alone and many times very weak. But the truth about us is that we are able to face another day because of the strength God provides. The truth is that God is walking this journey with us and we are never really alone (no matter how deep that valley may feel!!!). And the truth is that we may look weak - but it takes more courage for us to get up each morning to face a new day doing what we do - than pretty much anyo...

The story of Gideon is one of my favorite Bible stories. He has been called a coward by many since he was technically in hiding working the wheat. And yes, I'll admit he was hiding from the Midianites but it's the why he was hiding that intrigues me. He was hiding from the enemy to preserve his family. I don't see cowardice as others have, but I see determination and courage. To me Gideon's heart was set on not   letting the enemy have his wheat. He took all the necessary measures to make sure that they would not get it and his family would! He was risking losing it all, but here he was working away when the angel found him and hailed him a mighty man of valor. Notice that Gideon didn't take issue with whether he was a couragous warrior or not, but began asking where God was. What the angel said to him has given me much to think about. In response to Gideon's question   if God is with us why has all this happened? The angel said - go in this your strength...