Daily Devotions for Caregivers

 I "found" a scripture last week that described my typical caregiving day. It's in Genesys 42:36. Jakob has found himself in a hard spot. He lost Joseph a lifetime ago; now there is a famine in the land, and it's extreme. He sent his older sons to Egypt to get some food so they could survive. Now, the "mean" leader that they are unaware of is Joseph himself, who wants them to return. But he is requesting that they bring Benjamin to prove their story is true. Jakob cries out, "You have bereaved me of my children, Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin?" (ESV) His next breath is spent with the thought that comes behind many sighs. Everything is going against me!" (NLT)  Have you ever felt that way? Things can pile up so quickly on any given caregiving day, and it can feel like everything in life is working against us. It can be a few big things, numerous "smaller" things, or a combination of the two that ...

 It simply is NOT easy taking care of another whole person. I don't know about you, but I find myself second-guessing nearly every decision. My hope was that this would get better over time, but it has not. No matter how big or small a matter is, it seems like there is always a question.  Did I make the right choice? Was that the wrong decision? If I'm not careful (overthinker that I am), I will let those questions drag me into the emotional abyss and convince me that every decision I've ever made was wrong. LOL. Funny, but somehow it happens! It's just hard to make decisions for another person, especially if they can't weigh in on things that affect them. For some of us, myself included, there's enough second-guessing about the decisions that affect us directly, without the emotional mix that comes with making decisions for (or about) others.  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet up with a missionary who visited my uncle's church last Sunday. We hit it ...

 Caregiving days can be a little bit (okay, a WHOLE LOT) crazy. I won't start with my list, because I know you have one that matches, or maybe a little bit longer! We understand how lonely the walk can be and how difficult each day is. Caregiver burnout is real, but for many of us, we have to ignore it and keep pressing through. There isn't relief on the way; the cavalry isn't coming! We often struggle under the load, but we can't let anyone know as I mentioned in a recent post . What we end up doing is finding ways to walk numbly through the toughest parts of our days, while hoping something brighter is on the other side. We can't talk about mental health  because someone might think we are not fit to be caregivers. But there are some ways to help. Firstly, as believers, we run to God's word for comfort, direction, and help. We know that He is our present help in time of need. And all our time - is a time of need. The old hymn comes to mind - I need thee, O I n...

2 Kings 4 tells the story of Elisha, who prayed for the Shunammite woman to have a child, and she did. The boy grew up and was working in the field one day when he grabbed his head in pain and then died. She headed straight for the prophet. Elisha saw her when she was quite a bit away and sent his servant, Gehazi to check on her. When he asked her if everything was okay, she answered, It is well.  One way to look at it is that it was her statement of faith. Another way to look at it is that it's an outright lie. Gahazi specifically asked her if all was well with her, with her husband, and with her son. But all wasn't well as the boy had died. I'll take it as her painful, but faith-filled declaration. She was probably numb on the inside, and like most mother's in distress she likely had tons of unanswered questions about the moment and the future. Yet she says, All is well. As caregivers, we can live in an "all is well" state. We don't tell people how we fe...

  For parents with disabilities who are balancing family caregiving and income goals, small business ownership can feel both promising and heavy. The business startup journey often collides with real entrepreneurship challenges: uneven access, fluctuating energy, medical needs, and caregiving schedules that don’t pause for deadlines. Too many resources treat disability inclusion as an afterthought, leaving parents to patch together plans that don’t match daily life. With the right framing, entrepreneurship can be built around capacity and support instead of pushing past limits. Quick Summary: Starting a Business as a Disabled Parent ●      Choose a business idea that fits your strengths, accessibility needs, and caregiving responsibilities. ●      Pick a business structure that supports your goals and protects you appropriately. ●      Use funding resources designed for disabled parents to reduce financial barriers...

 When my son had his wreck over 17 years ago, I didn't leave the floor we were on for 10 days. Then, I only went to the cafeteria to get something to eat. I recall waking up in the SICU waiting room, trying to recalibrate my mind to what was going on, and hoping it'd all been a bad dream. From the beginning, I knew that God was in it.  (Whatever that meant.) Honestly, I thought God would touch Chris, he'd do some rehabilitation, and we'd all go back to what we were doing before the crash. Somehow, I thought, and hoped, that I'd wake up and see God riding in a white horse and rescuing us. Obviously, that did not happen! I openly and frankly admit my frustrations with God and the times I spent so angry at Him for allowing this to happen. But I kept finding that I really couldn't do life without Him, wreck or no wreck.  I needed Him to hold me and carry me, no matter how mad I was at Him.  All of these thoughts came rushing back in as I was reminded of the story of...

 As I was doing my personal Bible study this morning, my eyes fell on an odd verse. It kind of stood out because it said, I ground them as fine as dust carried by the wind. I swept them into the gutter like dirt. (NLT) I thought, what in the world? So I read the next verse, which says, You gave me victory over my accusers... That's where I stopped. I remembered that Revelation 12:10 says that the Devil is the accuser of the brethren. These verses (Psalm 18:42-43) say we win over the accuser. I liked that, so I thought I'd camp there for a while. I do think our enemy gets some bad press, and he is often accused of things that he didn't do - sometimes stuff is the result of our bad decisions. But I also know that he likes to accuse us of things to discourage us or talk us out of God's blessings.  Some accusations he likes to throw at me a LOT: You don't have any faith or this wouldn't have happened (or you could reverse it)... You are a doubter and not trusting Go...