Daily Devotions for Caregivers

 This morning as I was preparing for a Bible study class I attend on Monday nights, I found myself in 1 Kings 18. I've always loved the stories of Elijah and Elisha, and I've read this account many times. Elijah has been sent by God with a message for evil king Ahab. He meets Obadiah along the way. Verse 3 tells us that Obadiah feared the Lord greatly , which doesn't mean he was afraid of God, but that he served Him. Obadiah was returning from hiding 100 of God's prophets when he encounters Elijah. In chapter 18, we can read the amazing story that has been shared many times about how Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal, and God sent fire down from heaven to consume Elijah's sacrifice. But that made Jezebel and Ahab mad and probably a little bit uncomfortable. Well, no one likes to lose, right? lol. After this great victory, Elijah runs to the cave to hide. Why would he fear humans after witnessing such a miraculous sight? But we find him in a cave (v. 9) and feel...

 I've studied time for years now, and I'm fascinated with it. I'd really like to understand more about how God sees time because our view of it is quite limited. I wonder what time looks like from eternity's viewpoint. For now, it'll just be a lot of thoughts running around in my head. Yesterday, I saw something that reminded me that there are 1440 minutes in each day. There's no way to manipulate that number up or down. While I think it'd be nice for caregivers to get a few more minutes than everyone else, we just don't. Everyone, rich or poor, believer or unbeliever, old or young, and male or female, gets the exact same amount of time to work with each and every day. It's the only true level playing ground we have in the world, meaning no one can get more, and no one gets less. We all have to live our days out 1440 minutes at a time. At first, we may think we don't know a lot about time. But we know that time is in His hands. And we know that H...

Do you ever feel like life is a juggling act? I remember seeing performers whose greatest skill was spinning plates. They ran back and forth, working to keep the plates all spinning at once. Some days, caregiving feels like that. Lol. I know you know the drill. Feeding, transferring, dressing, bathing, walking, therapies, and the list just goes on and on. Lately, I've learned that it's okay if a plate or two hit the ground. Sometimes, it's physically impossible to keep every single plate spinning at a high enough rate of speed. One is going to fall.  Having so many things that must be done every single day is definitely not easy. Most days - it gets done. One thing is for sure, I haven't died yet if I let one or two things slide every now and then for my mental health's sake. Of course, there are things that cannot be skipped like medications, treatments, and just getting up. But I'm learning that some things can wait. I won't die if I sit down for 5 minutes...

  I've bragged about it before, but I can go from happy-go-lucky, great attitude to a bundle of emotional tears in less than a second! Sometimes, we talk about caregiving without realizing the emotions that are attached, but they are certainly part of the package. And one we cannot often ignore. They will sneak up on us from time to time. Grief is part of caregiving, whether we are grieving over a parent who is slowly slipping away or a child whose dreams were crushed by tragedy, or dreams that never were in the first place.  Grief can slowly ooze in and take over, or it can sneak up on you, and BAM! This morning, I stepped outside to tend to my plants. School starts back today for many schools in the area. As soon as I opened the door to step out onto my front patio, I heard the drumline practicing. It hit me so hard since my son was a drummer from the age of 8. Scenes of watching him march and play rolled through my mind as I crumbled into a pile of tears. Will those things ...

  Jesus told us to seek first the Kingdom of God.  Jeremiah told us that when we seek Him, we will find Him. But as I have been studying lately, I'm finding that God was the first seeker. He came looking for Adam right after they sinned in the Garden of Eden. Where are you, Adam? He found Moses on the backside of the wilderness and called him to deliver the Children of Israel. We've talked many times about Hagar and how the angel of the Lord found her.   I've been studying the woman at the well. Jesus had  to go through Samaria, He told His disciples. Why? To find a nameless woman by a nameless well. He shared with her that He was the source of living water and that He was indeed more than a prophet - He was the Messiah.  Then, this week, I found another "find" in the scriptures, and it blew me away. How have I missed this one? It's in John 9. I love this story of how Jesus healed the blind man. It's a great read! Eventually, the religious zealots kicked t...

  No matter what your caregiving situation is, some things are just difficult. Some caregivers have a little leeway and can leave their loved ones alone for short periods so they can run errands or get out for a walk. Others, like my own situation, are such that our loved ones cannot be left alone even for a short time because they are total care. When I was caring for my aunt, she used a walker, and that made it difficult to get in and out of places. She walked so slowly, it was laborious. If I take my son somewhere, there is loading, strapping in, driving to the location, unstrapping, and unloading. Then repeat all that when we are ready to go home or somewhere else. It's not difficult, but it does complicate what is a simple task for most. Add to that the difficulty of true accessibility, and you've got someone like me who is more content to just stay home. lol.  When I first became a caregiver, not being able to attend church was difficult. Later, I tried, but there were s...

 If you've read along with me over the years, you know I frequently take a run through some of my favorite verses and passages. I trust you know them and love them as well as I do. One such passage that gets frequent flyer miles from caregivers is Psalm 61. Maybe it's because we feel overwhelmed often, or that we need the reminder to just keep running to our Rock. This morning, I was up early trying to catch up on some of last week's projects, and I just started feeling overwhelmed. Along with all the things I need to get done today, I have some things leaking over from last week. Chris got a blessing last week as Medicaid finally approved a SmartVest for him. Such a blessing, but it also takes another hour or so out of each day. (Definitely not a complaint, just a statement - and I know you understand.) I just want to "clock out" for a little bit. But it seems like even a few moments of relaxation can make the pile of responsibilities taller and more difficult to...