Daily Devotions for Caregivers

Paul reminds us in Romans 8 that God makes everything work out for good as we trust Him. But it's interesting that this concept is throughout the Old Testament, too. When I find a passage that is really speaking to my heart, I camp there. So, since yesterday, I've been camped out in Isaiah 51 and 52. I've read these two chapters several times and even read them out loud a time or two... Yesterday, I thought a lot about verse 2, which says, "Abraham was alone when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation." Since we can feel alone and be alone so much of the time, this verse was encouraging to me. But this morning, I've been sitting on verse 3, which says, " The Lord will comfort Israel (Jakob) again and make her deserts blossom. Her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as Eden - the garden of the Lord."  The caregiving journey can feel so very barren at times. We can wonder if God can bring anything good out of the dry an...

 This morning, as I was preparing to go live on Facebook for Peace Out devotions, I found this really cool scripture in Isaiah 51. In verse 21, the prophet says, now listen to this, you afflicted ones,  who sit in a drunken stupor, though not from drinking wine. (NLT) I was like, Wow! How many times on this caregiving journey have I felt just like that? I wouldn't even venture a guess. Usually, I describe it as those sit-drink-coffee-stare-at-the-wall moments.  Trauma itself can have that effect, as can the ongoing struggles of caregiving. It's easy to get overwhelmed and even underwhelmed, lol. I think we've all had those moments where we go numb. And we didn't use a glass of wine to get us there! :-) Overwhelming is often an understatement when it comes to caregiving. There are just those days when there are no words and no one to understand, even if we tried. Those days are often filled with heavy sighs, and they are perfect for learning to wait on God. But boy, are ...

  I've been told that I "wear caregiving well." I'm pretty sure it was meant as a compliment and, of course, pointed to God's sustaining power. I'm still the silly, fun-loving person I always was, even though life changed forever. It can certainly feel like our soul is eclipsed by the cares of life. And there are very few people who will look past the moon (caregiving) to see the true light in the soul behind it. That's okay. I still love a good joke and tasteful pranks. Who doesn't love a good laugh? It's good for the soul, and sometimes I watch funny movies just for the soul's benefit. But it seems that there is always a soul eclipse as caregiving can cast a shadow on everything since it infiltrates literally every aspect of our lives. There's no getting around it. People see the bright and cheery part - but they don't see the nights I lay awake trying to figure out how to make ends meet. They don't see the times I'm so overwh...

  As caregivers, we didn't exactly initiate the battle life threw our way. Most of us did choose to take on the fight, though, right? We didn't choose for our loved ones to have a disability, be in mental or physical decline, or have an accident. Our choice was to take care of our loved ones while acknowledging the battle it was going to thrust us into. And that's okay. Here we are! In 1 Chronicles 5:18-20, it tells us of the armies of Rueben, Gad, and Manasseh. Since they were skilled warriors and heavily armed for the day, they launched an attack on the "ites" in the land. For caregivers, the battle chose us, but these tribes chose the battle. We don't know what happened or what was going down, but we know from verse 20 that they cried out to God during  the battle. While that is important, it's the next part that got me. After they cried out to God from an intense battle, it says  He answered their prayer because they trusted in Him. I love that part. H...

 We know that His mercies are new every morning, and that's simply for our benefit since God has no "mornings." When we wake up each new day, we can rest assured that He's already planned to cover us for the day. I was thinking about all of this when I got up early this morning. The trouble is, though, that I woke up with all of yesterday still hanging over my head.  Maybe you know. There are all those things that I didn't get to, mostly because of caregiving responsibilities, because those cannot be ignored or put off. That often means that I don't get this blog done as regularly as I'd like. It usually means I am running behind on the work I do to make my living. Sigh. That's a big one! Lol... Even though I get up and remind myself that His mercies are enough for today, there's a lot left over to clean up from several yesterdays. What does God do with that, I wonder? The first thing that comes to mind is that He is consistent. He is faithful. He ...

 Do you ever look back and wonder just how you made it through the day? Maybe one day comes to mind, or a series of days. But sometimes, I look back and wonder how all of this unfolded so slowly and quickly at the same time. Early on, I remember thinking about how I couldn't envision what the future held. I had no idea how quickly or slowly my son was going to recover, if at all. I didn't have a place to call home, nowhere to go, and I couldn't come up with a picture for the future no matter how hard I tried.  Each day just unfolded in front of me little by little. Then, for this little 3-year window, I cared for my son and my aging aunt. It was both a joy and a challenge to be sandwiched between two generations as a caregiver. Again, I had no idea how it would unfold.  I learned to just take a day little by little, one step, one action, one thing at a time. Any more than that and I'm on immediate overwhelm and ready to sit in the recliner, sip my coffee, and stare at t...

  One thing that I absolutely love about God is that He has big shoulders. He can handle anything I need to give to Him to carry. God's not afraid of our emotions, feelings, or situations. One of the things that I have learned from the Psalms is that it is okay to say just about anything to God. He won't get mad. He won't walk away. He won't tell me to come back when I am in a better mood. He has big shoulders. Big enough to carry my struggles, problems, emotions, and me too! One psalm that helped me find this out is Psalm 13. David poured it all out before God. He turned the emotions loose and told God exactly what he was thinking and feeling.  O Lord, how long will You forget me? Forever? How long will You look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? (NLT) When I realized God not only didn't strike David down to the ground, He let it be put in the Bible, I reali...