Daily Devotions for Caregivers

 This morning, I reread the story of Ruth. I find the book interesting from the aspect of grief, actually. We start with three women, Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah. All three of them are widows. Naomi lost her husband and both of her sons, who were married to Ruth and Orpah. Naomi, her husband, and her two sons had left their homeland due to a severe famine. While in Moab, the two sons married Orpah and Ruth. At some point, the men all died. After some time, Naomi heard that Judah was thriving again, and there were plenty of crops; the famine was over. She decided to go home. Orpah eventually made the choice to stay in Moab with her family. Ruth, though, chose to go back with Naomi. What dedication, right? Or perhaps it was desperation. However, the story of Ruth demonstrates to us how God can turn our desperate times into generational miracles.  When Ruth and Naomi returned to the homeland, everyone was so excited to see Naomi. But she was still grieving. She explained that she no l...

  Life is loaded with pivotal moments, and there are many of them on the caregiving journey. One of the first pivotal moments on my personal CG journey was when my son was still in the hospital. I never left the hospital after his wreck, and we were there for over 3 months. There was this one day, though, when the reality of it all was starting to sit in, and I was trying to sort it out emotionally. I couldn't even think about or plan for the future because I had zero to work with at that point. I had finally figured out that life had changed, and it was going to be a long, difficult journey at best. I went out for a walk and decided that I couldn't walk it for Chris, but I could walk it with him. I remember going back up to his room and crawling up beside him on the bed and telling him that. Of course, he didn't acknowledge anything because he wasn't really waking up yet. But it didn't matter; I was resolved and committed to the journey even though I couldn't s...

 In 2 Samuel, we find the story of Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, and Saul's grandson. David was looking for someone - anyone from Jonathan's household to bless now that he's king. Someone told David about Mephibosheth, who was "lame in his feet." When the nurse grabbed him to flee after Saul and Jonathan were killed, she fell and crushed his feet while saving his life. Here he is now, grown and has a son of his own! But he is still bothered by the injury from all those years ago. I'm sure if modern medical treatments were available back then, it was probably something that could have been fixed.  David invited Mephibosheth to come eat at his table. He also ordered all of Saul's land to be restored to Mephibosheth, but the invite was specifically to sit and eat at his table. Mephibosheth accepted gracefully.  Remember that they didn't have ADA back then! In fact, those who were lame or had physical flaws were often prevented from coming into the kin...

 Do you ever just feel wiped out?  Who am I talking to? Of course, you do from time to time; you're a caregiver! Lol. This weekend I pushed extra hard to get a couple of projects done for work as they are both big projects and both are due by the last day of the month. Of course, none of the caregiving responsibilities are put on hold while I try to cram extra hours on the clock to finish up the projects. Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful  for the work, but also tired because of the extra expenditure of energy. Wiped out is about as close as I can get to how I feel this morning - and there's still more to do! Plus, caregiving doesn't have a "hold" button. During my brief personal devotions this morning, I was pretty sure I was too tired to hold my Bible up so I could read it. Lol. That's not really much of an exaggeration. That reminded me of a time in my life that was far worse. I really was too tired to hold my Bible up. It was 1986, and I was sick ...

 I've spent the last couple of mornings in Philippians 4, just reading it over and over again. I have to take small bites and meditate on them throughout the day. That's a great way to really get the good stuff down in the heart! This chapter grabbed me a few days ago, but really, all I was doing was taking another look at verse 13. I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. Honestly, I just needed strength to get through another day and I knew just where to go to get it. But what started as a morning devotion turned into a 3-day spiritual retreat. I love it when God does that! Over the last few days, I've let my mind walk through this chapter as I've read and meditated on various phrases it contains. Paul was not in an easy spot in his life when he wrote it. Yet, he found great peace in trusting God. I'm pretty sure we can do that, too!  This morning, I was traipsing through the Psalms, preparing for my weekday Facebook Live devotional, "Peace ...

 In life, in general, there are always lots of things going on at the same time, and it's no different for caregivers. Maybe it takes it all to a whole new level when you're caring for another whole person, though. There are tons more elements that have to be juggled. But there are still a lot of good things happening (even if we can't feel it right now), and a lot of more difficult things happening, too. Each day is a mixed bag of events that we can rate and categorize into good and bad. Navigating all the day-to-days emotionally is sometimes one of our biggest struggles. After my son's wreck and my caregiving journey began, it was years before I felt like it was "okay" to laugh again. This is the case after such an emotional trauma. Eventually, my emotions healed to the point that I could enjoy a funny movie, even if the movie didn't match where my life was and where it was heading. Finally, I got to the point where my emotions were not stretched quite a...

 One of my biggest pet peeves is people parking in handicapped spots when they don't have placards. To me, it communicates that they don't care about anyone but themselves, and they have no compassion for those who don't have the mobility to get around easily or need a bit more help than able-bodied individuals. In some ways, it communicates that we just are not important. And that is interpreted in my mind as no one cares. There are many other things in the caregiver's life that communicate we are not that important.  It's easy to find ourselves walking this journey alone with very little to no outside help, inadequate help (I've been through aids!!!), and tons of other areas where we feel great lack. No wonder we deal with caregiver burnout day after day. Especially since there is not usually any relief in sight. When everything around you is screaming that you are not important, you are not valued, you are not worth it - God says, Stop! We have great value to...