Daily Devotions for Caregivers

  One of the first scriptures that I was able to grasp hold of after my son's accident was Psalm 121. I spent day and night in the ICU waiting room for just over 3 weeks. Even though I was taught in the word and had taught the word for years, I was at a loss. As many of you know, that kind of trauma can knock the air out of your body, soul, and spirit! Mostly, we sat and waited for word from the nurses or doctors. Numb. I know most people experience this at some point in their lives. At some point during the first two weeks of the ICU waiting room life (that was a journey itself!), I read Psalm 121. I realized my son was getting very good care. But I knew that the expert medical staff was not my help. I remember thinking about how God was my help and I tried my best in that numbed-out state to life my eyes to God. As a caregiver, you know that there really are no easy days. Am I right? There are just days that are a bit better than others, and that looks so different for all of us....

As caregivers, it can be easy to feel like we are always working. There are no real days off - even if we get a little help or respite, we have to be available. For many caregivers, there are no breaks at all. If we are lucky and have some killer organizational skills, maybe we can watch a movie or read a little in a book now and then. But we are always on and never really off. Rest is essential and even if we have to be a little (or a lot) creative, we have to figure out how to get some. Our mental health requires it. It can be hard though.  Until this morning, I had this idea that God always rested. You know, He worked the six days of creation and then rested on the 7th day, right? I thought He worked hard those six days, then kicked back and watched how everything would play out over time. But I read a verse this morning that changed my whole concept. In John 5, I was reading about how Jesus healed the man at the Pool of Bethesda. When confronted by the religious crowd about how...

 Yesterday, we looked at a story out of Matthew 12, where Jesus riled up the religious zealots of the day by healing a withered hand on the Sabbath. I mean, of all the nerve! I think if I had a withered hand, I'd be pretty willing to be healed at any time of any day. Lol.  Today, I spent my time reading and rereading another passage about a healing that made the Pharisees mad. It's in John 9 and it's one of my all time favorite passages. Jesus healed a man who had been blind since birth. It totally tipped the religious minded people off their edges. They were so angry. But I want to look at the first part of the chapter. In the first verse, it says that Jesus saw the man who had been blind since birth.  This time, though, His disciples saw Him see the blind man. They asked a legit question about why the man was blind and Jesus answered it. Yesterday, the Pharisees saw Jesus see  the crippled man and they lashed out. In both passages, those who witnessed what Jesus sa...

This morning I got lost in this story in Matthew 12. It's a familiar story and one I have skipped a lot. Jesus was in the Synagogue and healed the man with a withered hand. The Pharisees got mad because He "worked" on the Sabbath by healing the man's hand. God doing the unexpected, and us not putting Him in a religious box was the topic of my Facebook Live devotions this morning. (YouTube video below!) But as I thought about it long after I'd finished the video devotions, my thoughts took a few twists and turns. What about the man who Jesus healed? The passage shares nothing about him - it was focused on Jesus operating outside religion's box. I mean, this dude went into the Synagogue with a crippled hand and came out whole. His livelihood was restored. His life was restored. I likened that to my soul. As a caregiver, and one who lives a totally different life and lifestyle than the mainstream, it can feel like being crippled. Emotions are frayed and on end - ...

  Have you ever wanted to just give up? Who am I talking to - caregivers, of course, you have. But we just can't. Most of the time, we adjust, adapt, and advance. That can be good. That can be bad. Lol. I've been on the edge of giving up. Just tired really. I know you understand when I say that things just get a little (or a lot) wonky sometimes.  Caregivers can get emotionally strapped, financially busted, and overall exhausted. Sometimes we live there. Am I right?  Well, that's where I've been the last few days and I'll spare you the gory details!  Just last night I was at my wit's end. Caregiver burnout? Caregiver fog? Caregiver who knows...? I've just been in the back of the cave. I had decided to give up on everything and crawl to the back of our proverbial cave, curl up in a fetal position, and just let "life" (whatever we have left called "life") pass me by. But then, this morning, I had this thought and it was quite literally like...

 My son liked Aerosmith before his wreck, so sometimes I put on his music so my son can listen to it. One of his popular songs is Living on the Edge.  As we were listening to it the other day, I thought, he has no idea about the edge I live on. Lol. I found myself on the edge for real last week. I don't know if I was having an emotional breakdown or a mental crisis. But I ended up just pulling away for the weekend. I stopped social media and stayed offline except for work, of course. For whatever reason I felt at the end of my rope - and the knot had frayed so there wasn't anything to hold onto. I had to pull away for my own mental health. The weird thing is that this morning, everything was just back in place. I have no explanation for why I wanted to quit (everything!). And no explanation as to why it's all okay now. I think I'll blame it on caregiver burnout. I haven't had even a minute break in the last month since respite hasn't been approved yet.  I felt b...

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