Daily Devotions for Caregivers

 This morning, I've been thinking a lot about when Peter walked on water. It's funny how we label the story that way, isn't it? Why not call it "The night 11 of the disciples were too afraid to move"? Why not call it "Water walking with all the other boats in the same storm looking on"? Most of the time, I've heard it referred to as when Peter walked on the water, Jesus walked on the water, or Jesus calmed the storm. No matter what perspective we view the account in Matthew 14, several things were going on at the same time. There are a few things that stick out in these few verses. Of course, we know that Jesus ultimately brought peace. He calmed the storm that He had sent His disciples into just a few short hours earlier. He also came to His disciples in the middle of the storm. He didn't wait until the storm calmed - and He didn't calm the storm before He headed over toward their boat. Now that's a thought - He could have calmed the sto...

  My mind is still hanging out in Matthew 14! I guess I've really been rolling it over and over in my meditations. Today, I want to just look at Peter. He is the only one who stepped out of the boat. He gets a bad rap for sinking. But no one else jumped out onto the water, not even after seeing him walk on the water. How far he walked or how long he walked don't really matter, do they? It was still miraculous that he simply walked on the water.  Peter did something no one else had the guts to do - even if it was for just a few steps...a few seconds. But like many of us, Peter got distracted by the storm. As long as he focused on Jesus and working his way to Him, he walked across the water. But when he looked at the storm , it distracted him. Do you ever have one of those days? We start out with a great attitude determined to work it all out. Then out of nowhere BAM! We get blindsided by something - it could be anything. A bill we didn't expect. Supplies that are not on time...

  This morning as I was finishing up reading Genesis, I found myself asking a lot of questions. Of course, I know how the story is going to turn out and that's what sparked the questions. For instance, why didn't all of Jakob's sons go bury him and then just stay there after he died? Had they not come back - they wouldn't have been enslaved for all those years. Why were the Egyptians slaves too - but no one ever mentions that? Pharoah owned them. During the famine, they bought food with their money until it was gone. Then they bought it with their livestock - which they still cared for but no longer owned. Once all the livestock was Pharoah's, then they traded their land for food. Yet, they still worked the land as before. But now, they had to give 20% of everything they raised to Pharoah. But the big question was why Joseph did that?  Joseph is one of our big-time Bible heroes. He held on to faith when it looked like the dreams God gave him couldn't possibly co...

 Early on in my caregiving journey - before I even realized I was on the journey - I kept thinking God was going to ride in on His white horse and rescue me. I recall sitting in the SICU waiting room thinking I would either wake up and it'd be a horrible bad dream. Or that Chris would just wake up and start getting better. I never dreamed I'd be still caring for him 13 years later. There was no way I could have even imagined here - from there. I had no idea what here  looked like. Needless to say, there was no white horse; and there was no dramatic rescue.  However, what did happen was that time after time, day after day, moment after moment, God kept rescuing my soul from the emotional dungeon that was trying to drag my heart into its pit. He never abandoned me or left me no matter how bad it got or how badly I behaved. (Yes, I did that.) Instead, I found His calming presence always nearby waiting for me to calm down enough to accept and embrace His peace. God didn't rid...

 This morning during my devotions I found myself in Romans 8:28. This is a familiar scripture to most. Usually, we quote it when we don't understand what's going on. It's that go-to for every situation that baffles us. But I saw something in it this morning that grabbed me. That's one of the things I LOVE about the Word, it meets me where I am and speaks new things to my heart. Romans 8:28 in the New Living Translation says this: And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to HIs purpose for them. Today, what stood out to me was "His purpose." Here's where my thoughts went. He didn't put Adam and Eve in the garden and walk away. He came  to them and walked with them, talked with them. When they sinned, He still came looking for them, longing for relationship. God created everything else with His breath, with words. A simple command brought forth plants that bear seeds for more plan...

  I keep hanging out in Mark 6. Last week we took a brief look at it, but this morning as I was reading it one more time something else occurred to me. That's what I love about His word - it's alive! It continues to unfold and reveal new things as we continue to read it and let it shape our hearts. So, in the sixth chapter of Mark, the disciples headed across the sea instead of waiting on Jesus.  While they were rowing across, a big storm came up. It says the winds were blowing against them. Now, I've not rowed a lot but I know if you are in a boat trying to go against a headwind, you are not going to make much progress. You are sort of stuck in place. Here's what stuck out to me this morning during my devotions. Jesus came walking out to them - He didn't wait for the storm to stop first. As caregivers, God doesn't wait until life's picture looks pretty again. He doesn't wait until the winds stop blowing our boats around. He doesn't wait until we get...

My Bible sort of fell open to 2 Chronicles this morning and I read through a few stories of kings. It was interesting how one king would serve God and the next would not. After a few chapters, I thought - it really is a matter of the heart. It's a choice we all have to make whether to serve him or not, whether we are kings or peasants. In 2 Chronicles 28 Ahaz became king. but his heart wasn't right with God, scriptures say he was unfaithful. Verse 22 stood out to me this morning - it says this And when trouble came to King Ahaz, he became even more unfaithful to the Lord. (NLT) I'm not really sure why that verse struck me so this morning. You see, for most of us, trouble leads us back to Him. For many, it's the only time they pray. lol. As caregivers, every day brings "trouble." It can be something that seems as simple as fears. For me - I fear not being enough, not making the right decisions for those I care for, or not being able to take care of them. T...