Daily Devotions for Caregivers

There is so much going on in the world around us, since I am about being honest and transparent, I must say I am overwhelmed. As if caregiving wasn't enough to carry we had the national shut down in response to the Coronavirus plus the fears of loved ones contracting it. Now there is racial unrest, rightfully so. And to top it off there is rioting and threats being made to our safety daily. Sometimes I do wish we got an exempt card from the rest of life when we become caregivers. lol. But if we skipped the bad  - we'd also have to skip the good, right? On top of all of this shared load, I've had a couple of situations at work that have made me feel devalued, less than. For someone who struggles with self-esteem and rejection it makes it tough to focus on the truth, you know? Life is just heavy right now for all of us - or at least for anyone paying any amount of attention. It's so heavy I feel it weighing on me physically and I cannot seem to get out from underneath the

I'm still pulling stuff out of Hosea 2, so bear with me because I'm getting a lot out of this little passage! I hope you are too. Yesterday we looked at how He brings comfort and provides in the midst of the wilderness. Today, let's look at the next little bit - it's powerful, I'm telling you! Verse 17 says this: I will give her vineyards from there , and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope. What's interesting is that "Achor" means pain. Caregivers are familiar with pain and loss. It doesn't matter what type of caregiving you do, there are lots of responsibilities that go with taking care of another whole person. There will be losses, good days and bad days, sorrow and joy, self-sacrifice, and pain. But right there in the Valley of Pain, God provides a door of hope.   God always has hope for us on reserve - He never runs out. Even in the longest, darkest night - He provides hope. Sometimes it appears as a small glimmer of light - but it is

As I was writing yesterday's post, the story of God showing Hagar the well in the wilderness, another passage familiar to me came to mind. It's found in Hosea. God is chasing Israel and having the prophet act it out in real life. (That's a loose translation of what's going on here.) In verses 14 and 15 of chapter two, God says, Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope, she shall sing there.... I love this passage as God is wooing Israel and bringing her to Himself. Note that He brings her to the wilderness, the same place He found Hagar. First, He speaks comfort  to her. We all need that, don't we? Especially in our uncertain days with the Coronavirus and all the craziness surrounding it, we need His comfort and peace. Here, He offers it. He does not withhold comfort - He speaks it into her. I trust He does the same thi

I've talked a lot about Hagar, but I keep going back to her story. In Genesis 16 when she despised Sarah and ran away, god found her . He told her to go back. She called God the God who sees.  How wonderful to know we are seen by God. It's comforting to know He does not distance Himself from our day-to-days, isn't it? Then, in Genesis 22, Sarah and Abraham sent Hagar and her son Ishmael who was about 15 away. Hagar was distraught and thought her son was going to die before her eyes. But then in verse 17, it says God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God  called to her from heaven. This God who sees - still sees. He was still watching over her and her son. But He not only sees - He hears!  Then verse 17 says that God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water in the midst of the wilderness. The God who sees - made her to see a way in the wilderness. What she had thought meant certain death, became a well of life. How wonderful that God sees and hears. He

I'm still on my journey through the psalms or Songs of Ascents. Today, I'm gleaning from Psalm 130. Honestly, I think I love all the psalms - they are open, raw, and honest. This one starts that way too. The psalmist says, Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! That sounds a bit like yesterday when we were looking at the dark night of the soul and some of the long nights caregivers often endure. One thing I like about many of the psalms is that after the prayer, after the complaint and all the crying out - there is a declaration. This psalm is no different. In verse 5,  the Psalmist says, I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My loose interpretation is this: I may be calling out to Him for help in a time of desperation, but I still know His word is my hope and I will declare that I am waiting on Him alone. In the next verse, he goes on to say - My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning - I

I've never been scared of the moon, have you? This question came to mind as I was reading Psalm 121. Verses 5 and say this The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. the sun shall not strike you by day nor the moon by night. Of course my thoughts ran away with it and I had lots of scenarios run through my mind. Seriously, I get that He is our shade from the sun. It can be scalding hot especially at full day. But the moon? Really? But as my thoughts wandered around, I thought about how long some nights have been. While midnight doesn't have the heat of the day - it can be the dark night of the soul.  The darkness at night can chip away at our peace and our sanity. This is especially true when things are not going smoothly or we are going through an even more difficult time. Just like God protects our souls from the heat of the noonday sun, He protects our hearts from the thick darkness of the night. It's usually between 2 and 4 when I start to

 This morning I was reading through the psalms called the Song of Ascents.  These psalms include Psalm 120 through Psalm 134. As I understand them, they were sung as the journey to Zion or Jerusalem was made. They most likely sang them happily as they were excited about returning to the temple and the gathering of the people. Psalm 133 talks about dwelling together as brethren. David penned that it was pleasant and good to be together. I am sure for the church crowd the next couple of weeks will be like that. As the coronavirus winds down and things return to some sort of normal, people are excitedly returning to their church services. For the last few months, churches scrambled to have Sunday School, Bible Study, small groups, and services online. I had a slight sense of disappointment when it all started. Why? Because I'd been shut off for so long and none of this was available. But once they needed it - it became the new norm. Now that they won't need it again - things