Daily Devotions for Caregivers

This morning, memories began running through my mind. I was thinking about all those tough spots I've found myself in over the last 12 years or so. Of course, that's just the caregiving years. I've been in lots of tight spots in my 60 years. Some of them were unavoidable, and a few I could have avoided with my own choices. As I let my memory run for a little while, I thought of how God has been so faithful. I was thankful. David mentions how God was his rock. He talks about it a lot throughout the Psalms. God is a rock we can hide behind. He is a rock we can stand on. He's got us covered no matter what life throws at us. He's solid. He's secure. He's immovable. I love all that about Him. We can trust Him with today. You know, I usually end each blog with a statement about trusting Him for today, and I always ask you to join me. It's a legit question. He is trustworthy.  As caregivers, we never know what a day is going to bring. Our normal  days have more...

This morning as I was getting up to bolus my son and start getting prepared for the day, I was overwhelmed. Of course this is nothing new for the caregiver. Many times we've discussed here the long list of things that have to be done on a daily basis. (For those who may have missed it - it begins with bathing, laundry, feeding, transferring, range of motion exercises and so forth...) For someone who is not a caregiver, think about every single  thing you do in a day - now think about how it would be if you were not able to do any of it yourself. For the caregiver in many circumstances we must do all the daily living skills two times; once for ourselves and once for our loved one. Just caregiving on any given day can be overwhelming. Now add to all that additional trips to therapy and trying to make a living at home. (I am a freelance writer) This sort of describes where I was when I woke up this morning... simply overwhelmed. My mind went immediately to Psalm 61. It's a ...

One of my Facebook friends posted Psalm 18:2 on their wall early this morning so I pulled out my Bible with my morning cup of coffee and read through this familiar and favorite passage. I read over it a couple of times and then I just meditated on the first couple of verses. As I was reading and rereading and meditating my thoughts began to be focused on how He could be my rock and my fortress. David was on the battlefield when then was written and I am sure there were many times he crawled up into a rocky area and sought refuge and safety. Sometimes the life of a caregiver can parallel a battlefield as we are many times the only advocate our loved one has. It's a shame but lots of times I find myself battling for things that are included in his care plan; for the things and care my son is supposed to get anyway. God is indeed our rock during those times. But a fortress is a little bit different. When David is referring to a rock it could be interpreted a cave, or a solid pl...

Isaiah 40 is a long time favorite chapter for many. It has some amazing thoughts about how God  created the world, measuring sand and water in the palms of His hands; how He formed the mountains and shaped the earth. Most of the time we read this chapter and keep it isolated yet Isaiah starts a discourse in chapter 40 that runs all the way through to the end of chapter 44.  If we look at it in its entirety the prophetic speech goes all the way through to verse 8 of chapter 44. I kind of look at it like verses6-8 of chapter 44 are like the God's exclamation point at the end of His thoughts. Verse 8 says this:   Do not tremble and do not be afraid Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are my witnesses Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none. God had spoken some pretty awesome things in the previous chapters and here He is telling His own children that they have no need to fear. And the God asks and answers Hi...

Proverbs 18:10 says simply: the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe. There is nothing like tragedy or trouble to find out how fast we can get there! Throughout life there are many times we can find ourselves running to Him as our source of safety. Honestly, I wouldn't have any idea where else to go; and I really don't mind that at all. Those of us about 50 ish remember the 70's and how in some church circles it became the norm to sing choruses. This scripture was one that was sung frequently. If we could put a tune to it - we'd sing it! Old King James and all! And we could sing them over and over and over again! But we actually memorized them while we were doing so! And now we see a new generation coming up behind us and you know what, they are not singing it like us - but the song really hasn't changed much. And I'm finding out that even young people know where to run when trouble strikes! They have found the same comfo...

Emotions can run high for many caregivers. We keep them all stretched out all the time. When things like recent natural events like the tornadoes in Alabama occur it seems to stir them up even more than usual. For me - I cannot even watch real intense movies or TV shows because the emotions are simply too raw most of the time. The emotional strain of caregiving can be very overwhelming - and difficult to control. Then add in a terrible tragedy like the recent devastating tornadoes and they can be difficult to get it all balanced and manageable again. During the times that emotions are running so high it can also be difficult to find something solid to cling to. We know the Lord is our rock, our refuge and our constant hiding place but when the world is falling apart we need something to hold on to while we are hiding in Him! These are the times we may find it beneficial to go back to what I call the basics. The most basic truth we learn as Christians is God's unfailing love . N...