Daily Devotions for Caregivers

 Do you ever have people compliment you by telling you how strong you are? Occassionally, it happens to me. I try to  be gracious and thank them for their kind words. But inside, I feel oh so weak.As survivors and overcomes of the many obstacles of life, we may look strong. We may also catch some flack for being so independent.  But when people don't show up for us, and that happens a lot for caregivers, we learn to kick into survival mode and I can do it myself mode, right? Then they say - you are so strong. I'm like, yeah, right - it's because I have to be. Experience Speaks Loudly One time early on in my caregiving journey , I had two routes for my son's future treatment. I called together those who I thought were going to be helpful in his care, as I needed some input. After I explained the options, they both just shrugged their shoulders and said basically, "it's on you, so do what you feel best." I was deflated and disappointed. I trudged forward. Is...

 Do you ever feel like you're living life in the sifter? You know the one - where Jesus told Peter that Satan had asked to sift him like wheat. Then, Jesus prayed that Peter's faith wouldn't fail? I always wondered why Jesus didn't pray that Peter wouldn't have to go through all that. Why didn't He pray that Peter would just be strong - but isn't it the sifting trials in our lives that build our faith in God? Maybe they are responsible for making us lean in to Him a little more closely. This morning, I found another scripture like that. It's in John 17:15. It's Jesus' final prayer before He heads to the cross. He prayed, I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. (NKJV) Sifting is going to happen, and we don't even get an exemption card as caregivers. Sometimes, it's the caregving that acts as a sifter, trying our faith. Hard things are going to come our way, that's a giv...

This morning, I read the story of Paul and Silas in the jail. The account is found in Acts 16. It describes how they were beaten and thrown into prison, not based on something wrong they did, but due to greed on someone else's part. In verse 25, it says that about midnight, Paul and Silas began to sing and pray. Now, my first thought in those midnight moments  of my life is not always about singing or praising God. Of course, I had to wonder what in the world they were singing about. No matter what the words were, no matter what they were singing, it was about God. And that's why they had songs in the night. When we find ourselves in tight spots, we can still sing about the goodness of God. Why? Because our circumstances didn't change His goodness. What we go through doesn't change His grace. His mercies are still new every morning - no matter what the morning brings. I have to wonder how our situations might be changed, or at least our attitudes, if we sing about our u...

I'm starting to think that there are no easy days for caregivers. Each day is somewhat mundane, doing the same tasks over and over and never really getting "done." But in the middle of that, we never know what kind of wrench may get thrown into the mix. A surprise doctor visit. A phone call in the night. Delayed shipments. A sudden fever. We never know what a day, or a long night, may bring. Keeping a positive outlook and fighting to keep our "heads above water" are two real things we face pretty much every day. Of course, that doesn't mean every day is bad. But most days are hard, even though we have our caregiving routine down to a T. I am in a caregiver's group on Facebook, but I don't hang out there much. It is a safe place to vent and air out emotions. But it seems to get a bit whiny to me. I don't need that. When I share, I try to post positive things. As caregivers, we have so much on our plate, and it does get overwhelming. How do we keep...

 Here we are, making it day after day. One day we just look up and realize it's been years on this caregiving journey. We didn't plan for it. Didn't count on it. Had no expectation of it, but here we are, just relying on God from moment to moment to make it through each day. (Enter: big sigh.) I don't even have the imaginative capacity to imagine what life might have been like without the hard left onto the caregiving road. I'd like to think I would have trusted God anyway. I'd like to think I'd have held onto Him and His promises with a grip just as tight. If nothing else, caregiving has taught me how much I need Him and how grateful I am that He chooses to walk the road with me instead of just waiting for me at the end. I really don't have a contingency plan. There isn't any other hope, direction, or goal outside of trusting Him for each breath. And I'm not looking for one, either. I am so content that He's got me no matter what. I know I c...

 This morning as I was reading, I found myself in Proverbs 12:13. It says, The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will come through trouble.  (NKJ) I first noticed that it did not  say that the righteous would be able to avoid trouble. Instead, it says - we'll come through it. No one is exempt from trouble. If we are breathing, we're going to go through stuff. However, through  is the key word for me today. I remember sitting with my Daddy, who was grieving over my mom. She was not herself, having some form of dementia. She remembered us for a long time but eventually did not. Daddy was crying and asking why this had to happen to such a beautiful person. I just cried with him because I had no answer. Caregivers are often in some stage of grief, whether we are grieving over the person we lost through death or the one who is slowly fading away. Some of us grieve for the person we lost, even though we are still caring for their bodies...

  When I woke up this morning, I was just grateful. That may have spilled out wrong - there wasn't anything wrong except another long night, but I was just overcome with gratefulness. I spent some time thinking about how God has carried me all these years, even BC (before caregiving). Overnight, Chris had woken me up a time or two, and then I couldn't go back to sleep. I hate those unproductive hours, but they happen. When I finally started waking up and shaking off the early morning grogginess, I started thanking God for keeping me hidden in Him. I thanked Him for being with me and never leaving. That's when I had this thought  - that He's still writing my story. Over the years, I've had people talk to me about writing my caregiving story in a book. But my answer has remained the same. There's not a happy ending. So, this morning as I was meditating on Psalm 139 and how God watches us be formed in the womb, I realized that He didn't stop there. He's sti...