Daily Devotions for Caregivers

In a discussion yesterday I was talking about some of the emotions that are part of the caregiver's package. I was expressing the feelings that make it seem like God has abandoned us. While we know He didn't...it can certainly feel at times as though He did...and that He is far away.  In Psalm 13 we can see that the psalmist David had some similar feelings. How long O Lord will you look the other way? somehow there is a small amount of comfort in knowing that we are not the only persons in the world who have ever felt like God is not looking on us with His favor - or looking our direction at all!  Even though David pours out all of his anguish before the Lord - he ends up in the last verse of this psalm with this phrase... but I will trust in Your unfailing love. Isn't that where we are today? Some days we are unable to feel or sense God in any way...yet we will trust in His unfailing love. Psalm 19 ends with one of these types of thoughts as well. He prays let the w...

In preparation for a teaching I will be doing later this week via Skype, I was reading Micah 6:8. This may sound kind of silly, but as a caregiver sometimes it seems like the way we have understood some scriptures through our traditional church teachings...from here they just don't fit the way we learned them. (that may just be me...)  For example (and this is just one of many), forsake not the assembling of yourselves together ...has been taught as though it is some grave sin to not go to church on Sunday morning. So what are you supposed to do when you are shut-in? (God forbid it be taught to go out and visit those who cannot come!!)  But anyway - Micah 6:8 is one of those that is so simple it works anywhere for anyone. It's a scripture that there just is no way of reasoning around or making so religious that it no longer applies to real life! It's pure and simple and exempts no one.   do what is right love mercy walk humbly with your God These are required from ...

My friend used this term when she replied to one of my blogs.It's the one where I try to dump all my emotions so I can have my heart and mind clear to be able to concentrate on the rest of my day which is mostly caregiving or writing. (www.macdingolinger.wordpress.com) It's actually called from the furnace and I try to share how I hold on to faith while going through this furnace. Sometimes I am barely keeping it in my grasp and sometimes it sure seems to slip away! But eventually, no matter how dark - faith always comes back.  I was thinking of others this morning who had their furnace. Some like the apostle Paul. He turned his heart toward God while in the furnace and we ended up with 2/3 of our New Testament! I suppose this is our greatest task right now - while in our own personal furnaces - to turn our hearts to Him. For the real believers - it's impossible not to. It can actually be frustrating to try to walk away... like ... where would we go anyway? There is no ...

I am certain that sleep is overrated! I have always wondered why God made our bodies to need a certain amount of sleep every night. It seems like such a waste of time. Didn't He know how much I could get done if I did not have to lay down for that minimum of 6 hours a night?  I was thinking about this last night as my son was waking me up every hour on the hour until about 3 this morning. All the things I needed to accomplish today were running through my mind as I was griping about having to give in to the tiredness. I even thought, why did You make us have to sleep? You never sleep ?  ....but He did rest ...from all His works!  So here it is 3 am and caregiving is stealing my sleep that I didn't really want in the first place and now my mind is racing. He does not ever sleep. He does not grow tired.... but I do! As I lay there frustrated and trying to decide if I should just get up and stop fighting it; asking all these questions - I was pretty sure I was not di...

Daily Devotions for Caregivers: Fear Not - You Worm...? : I was reading along this morning and found a great scripture that contains a wonderful piece of instruction to Jacob: fear not. I let my ey...

I was reading along this morning and found a great scripture that contains a wonderful piece of instruction to Jacob: fear not. I let my eyes rest on those two little words for a few seconds as I thought about how many fears I face almost every day. ( I'm afraid I'll do something wrong while caring for my son, afraid I am not stretching him enough, afraid I'll drop him, afraid I won't stay on top of my growing work load, afraid I'll gain more weight, afraid I won't get to run soon enough.... got the idea? 'cause I can go on!!)  Fear not. Simple, but complex, isn't it? It's easy to say - but difficult to do. Just help me find the button to turn my thoughts off for a minute and maybe I can shut down the fears that come with the situation. I really don't think it's the deepest sense of the word, fear . Sometimes it's healthy to be afraid. Like when you are going to cross the road on foot and there is traffic. It's actually a good thin...

Caregiving is an endless job and it does not take long to feel safely isolated away from the rest of the world. There seems to be times that I want to withdraw on purpose and live safely in my cave. Some of those times can be a good thing, allowing me to gather my thoughts and emotions so that I do not explode on anyone negatively should I have contact with the "outside world."  But there always comes the times to emerge...it's almost like a fresh new start on a very strange level. There are times the isolation of caregivers is good and there are times that the world is a real place for us once again. Either place can be the right place for the moment, neither to be totally embraced, or ignored. No matter which extreme we seem to be living in - or anywhere in between - there's a continual longing, or seeking for Him.... waiting for Him to show up one more time ...  David said in Psalm 63:1    O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek you;  my soul thirsts for...