Daily Devotions for Caregivers

 I had a great conversation with a friend from California last night. We were talking about those periods of time when we don't see God moving, but we know He is. We laid it all out there. The frustrations. The anger. The whys. Everything. But we had no answers, except to just keep trusting God. One story that we stayed on for some time is the story in John 5 at the Pool of Bethesda. There was a large crowd of sick and infirmed people who were waiting for an angel to come and "trouble" the water. The first one in the water after the angel's touch would get healed. There was a multitude gathered there. Waiting. One thing that always baffled me was that Jesus walked in and healed one person. He could have walked among the crowd and healed them all. But for whatever reason, He just walked into the crowd, healed one man, and kept on walking. Jesus asked the man "would you like to get well?" (NLT) I used to think the man's reply was a bit of a whine. I can...

 There's no doubt that I love the Psalms. Since I became a caregiver, they have become even more special to me. Maybe that is because I found myself in them and also found a license to tell God how I really feel about stuff. Reading the heart cries of the psalmists helped me see that I can  tell God about my heartbreak and heavy sighs - and He gets it. This morning, I found myself in Psalm 108. It starts out with David expressing his confidence in God and singing praises to Him for all He has done. In verse 6, David prays that God will "use His right hand" to save him. But then in verse 10, his tone seems to change a bit. David starts asking who is going to bring victory. Verse 11 sinks even a little deeper as the sweet psalmist of Israel asks, have you rejected us, God? That may seem a bit fickle to some. One minute David is singing the praises of His victorious God. The very next second, he is wondering where God is. If we are honest, we have days like that too. At leas...

 I was thinking about Daniel this morning. The administrators and princes in the province didn't like Daniel. They couldn't find one thing to fault him in and they looked hard to find some type of accusation. When they couldn't find anything, they made something up. They played on the people-pleasing side of King Darius, who actually liked Daniel.  They asked the king to decree that no one pray to anything divine or human  for except for "your majesty." Doesn't that make you think the king was rather self-serving, pious, and conceited? I mean, he was king - so he could be I guess. But as the story unfolds, it's easier to see the king's shortcomings and Daniel's upright heart. Daniel could have just not prayed for 30 days. He could have gone to the window and not even opened it, but still prayed. In fact, he could have gone it and opened the window as was his custom  and prayed silently. But he didn't. He passed the test because he had integrity...

  I was a little amused this morning as I read through Psalm 40. He starts nobly enough - kind of like how I start my caregiving days with positive thoughts. David says in verse 1, I waited patiently for the Lord. (NKJ) He then goes on to talk about how he was in a pit, and God pulled him out. Then, God set his feet on a rock, established his steps, and put a new song in David's mouth. I nod eagerly in agreement, as it's great when God comes to our rescue and makes our paths smoother and more solid - even for us caregivers!  But I honestly cannot say that I waited patiently  for God. Do I look to Him for help? Absolutely! My cries for help are almost constant.. lol. Do I ask God for direction daily? Yes, I Do! Are there times I lean into Him to hear His heart so its beating for me can carry me through another day, hour, minute, or moment? Another absolutely, yes! And God comes through every single time! While I can say all that - I still can't say that I do it patiently. ...

  Have you ever felt a little bit like Joseph? Maybe our brothers didn't abandon us and sell us into slavery, but we do know the feelings of abandonment. It's funny how quickly people disappear when caregiving becomes our norm. Sometimes, it feels like life tossed us into a pit and walked away leaving us to fend for ourselves. But we showed life - because we just learned to depend on God even better. Like many things in life, it's about refining the process until we get efficient at it. Lol - Pretty sure we are efficient at running to God by now! :-) In Lamentations 3:55, Jeremiah said that he was calling on God from the lowest pit. (NKJ) Who knows if it was indeed the "lowest" of all the pits around town, but Jeremiah felt it was the lowest pit he'd ever been in - and emotionally, spiritually, and perhaps physically - it was. He was in knee-deep and over his head emotionally. Boy, that sounds like the description of caregiving most days. But in the next 3 ver...

 I was preparing for my FaceBook live devotions this morning, and I had this thought about the Psalms. The 150 Psalms were written by several people, including Moses, David, Asaph, and the Sons of Korah. It's the only book in the Bible that has multiple authors. The writers of the Psalms have varied backgrounds. Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt and across the wilderness.  The Sons of Korah were with Moses on the journey through the wilderness, except that Korah got eaten up by God's earthquake when he rebelled. I'd say that his sons had an understanding and appreciation for God's grace after that big event! Asaph was a lead worshiper in the Tabernacle. He was a gifted and talented musician who saw a whole different perspective of God. Then there's David. He wrote from the perspective of a shepherd (Psalm 23), from the back of the cave (Psalm 31), and from the palace. He wrote while he was running from Saul. He also wrote a psalm or two, repenting for hi...

 I'm pretty sure we would all want a big miracle. It'd be great if God just swooped down and healed our loved ones, wouldn't it? Early on in my caregiving journey, I thought for sure God was going to come riding in on His white horse, raise my son up, and we'd have a wonderful, powerful testimony. Obviously, it didn't happen like that at all. There would be no miraculous instantaneous healing. Instead, there would be a long, hard, dark walk. It can be easy to miss the smallest miracles and blessings when we are focused on the big ones. Don't get me wrong - big ones are GREAT! We all want those, right? But I've learned to focus on the small stuff to make it through each day. I'm determined to enjoy the small, bite-sized blessings that come my way. This week, those bite-sized blessings came in ways I didn't expect at all. I got a $2 per hour raise on one of my jobs. That adds up over time, even though it seems small. It's a huge financial blessing ...