Daily Devotions for Caregivers

Jesus made an interesting statement in Mark 10 ,   He said: Whoever wants to be a leader among you must first be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many. In the Western church we hear very little about servanthood that is not manipulative or demeaning on the part of "leadership"; and many times boastful on the part of underlings. But Jesus came and presented Himself as a servant without any fanfare; it was just His nature to serve us. I really think this is an element of caregiving that many do not realize. In many cases it's a natural thing; but that doesn't mean it's always pleasant or easy. For many of us it just makes sense to take care of a parent, child or other family member who needs help and we just step into the role. That's what Jesus did - He saw our need for a Savior and He just stepped into it  eag...

If we really take time to think about it, caregivers look a lot like Him. I know, we will all modestly say, "Oh,no we are far from that." But this week in our devotions I want to look at some ways that we do  look like Him. (That is  the point of Christianity isn't it?) Now I'm not saying we are perfect, or that we have it all together because that is probably not going to ever  happen in a caregiver's world. But day after day we continue to care for our loved one(s) without giving up. If we take a serious look, we'll find that we do indeed have Christ-like qualities. In the New Living Translation, Romans 2:4 is translated this way: Don't you realize how kind, tolerant and patient God is with you? God patiently waits for His children to come to Him. We patiently care for our loved one day after day - whether we see any change or have any hope that the situation will change or not. All of that is irrelevant to providing care. Have you ever heard someone...

I have found it useful to keep a personal blog as it gives me a place to put and leave my emotions. I really didn't start it for that purpose. My intent was to share the difficulties and challenges that I face as a caregiver and talk about how to keep faith (which has been totally redefined for me) while walking through the heat of the furnace on a daily basis. Last night as I was writing an entry in From the Furnace , I found my own encouragement in Isaiah 40:28-29. The New Living Translation says it this way: don't you know that the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; He offers strength to the weak.   On a day when emotions were fried and strength was gone, I found this scripture to be very encouraging. I particularly like that it says He won't grow faint or weary. And I like that He will give powe...

This morning I was scrolling down facebook to see what happened in my world while I was asleep and saw a post from Jillian Michaels. She was out catching the premiere of a new movie. I always associate her with fitness and workouts and somehow in my mind she should not be at a movie. She should be somewhere kicking someone into gear and motivating them to get in shape! lol. When I see Jillian Michaels I always think of fitness or working out - her watching a movie did not fit with the image I had in my mind. I wonder what people think when they think of caregivers. Do they think that that is all there is to our lives? While caregiving for many of us is indeed a 24/7 job, we still have to do our day-to-day tasks just like everybody else - on top of taking care of another person's needs. Caregiving is a difficult and time consuming position, but we still like the things we used to  do before like reading, hiking, running, watching a movie or having dinner with friends. But in many ...

I've always heard that we should never say "never." I guess that's basically because we really never know what a day may hold. But last night while I was reading, I came across this scripture in Psalm 8. Verses 9 and 10 say this: The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord have never abandoned anyone who searches for you. (NLT) If anyone can use the term "never" it'd be Him! Far too many times I have heard stories of caregivers who feel that their family and friends have abandoned them. On one hand, I really do understand that for the most part, people do not know what to do with us. We cannot always "get out" like others and when we do not fit the mold of the world, and sadly the church, we can be abandoned. Isn't it comforting to know that He will  never abandon us? I love the passage in Isaiah 43 which says: When you go through deep waters and great...

I was noticing something the other day as I was looking through pictures. whenever there is a picture with me and my son in it - I am almost always touching him. If I am standing, I usually have my hand on his shoulder and if I am sitting, I have my hand on his leg or his arm. It never really is anything I am thinking about; but in most cases, I am simple reassuring him that I am there and everything is fine. It also lets him know that I am never far away. I don't have to say anything - just my touch is reassuring. My son and I at a friend's birthday party. I think I feel the same way about God; I just need to feel His touch to be calmly reassured that He is near, He is with me and we're all going to be okay. Several scriptures come to mind when I think about God being near. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! (Psalm 73:8) We give thanks because You are near. (Psalm 75:1)  But for me, the nearness of God is my good (Psalm 73:28-CJB)  There is a comfor...

For most of us lives can be very hectic at times; and this is true no matter what our role is in life. Yesterday during my morning reading I re-found this scripture in Nehemiah 10:39b - So we promise together not to neglect the temple of our God. (NLT) God has told us that we are His temple. He lives in us. His purposes for us did not change just because we became a caregiver or life got difficult or ugly. Everything He said about us is still true - because we are His temple and He still lives with us. There's an old saying that goes something like this: you find out who your real friends are when times get tough. I personally have found this to be true. When the battle rages on in our lives it seems that fewer and fewer people continue to walk through it with us. That does balance out because we make new friends along the way. But in many instances our old friends really do not know what to do with us anymore - our lives changed when we became a caregiver and many just can...