Daily Devotions for Caregivers

  I think we all hope for miracles. The caregiver may do this more than anyone. We read about some wonderful miracles Jesus did in the gospels. We even see miracles scattered throughout the Old Testament. Well, it all began with a BIG miracle, didn't it? I pray for a miracle touch for Chris every single day. And while he is consistently, continuously improving, I'm not seeing the "rise up and walk" miracle I've dreamed about. This morning, during my prayer time, I was praying for my son, for people who have been on my heart, and even for you, my fellow caregivers. As I prayed, I wondered why we don't see the miracles we know God can do. Early on in my caregiving journey, that was a great source of frustration: knowing that He can, but hasn't.  Then, my mind shifted to the fact that I was still praying. I had this thought: it's a miracle that I am still praying - that I still have faith even in great adversity. Even though life has had its unexpected tu...

Many caregivers care for loved ones with mobility issues. My son, for instance, is in a chair. My aunt, whom I took care of, walked with the aid of a cane or walker and still needed some assistance many days. Many places follow the "letter of the law" by adding accessibility features like ramps. But it doesn't take long to discover that even though they say they are "accessible" they are far from it. One business we went to has a very steep, short ramp to use to get into their building. It's accessible - but not safe, especially for older caregivers like me who need to push 200 pounds up that ramp! Lol. Calling ahead is no help. Most places will tell you that you can get a chair in their establishment. They fail to communicate what it may take to do so! One hotel told me I could get my son's chair in any downstairs room. And I could, but that was it. I could only get it in the room and turn the chair next to the bed to transfer him. He had no access to t...

 During my personal devotions this morning, I found another gem. I call these "gems" because they are powerfully valuable. For so long, religion demanded that we squelch our feelings and emotions. Many of us grew up in an environment where if we "felt" anything, it was declared a lack of faith. Extremists labeled us as faithless if something bad happened to us. So those with situations were shunned by religious folks who silently shook their heads instead of offering a prayer and a hand up. Hopefully, you don't have a clue what I am talking about. But for those who do - finding out that our Bible heroes actually had feelings and emotions is helpful. Their faith carried them through their struggles - not around them. So, this morning, as I was reading a familiar passage in Lamentations 3, I found this phrase that stuck out to me. I was turning to read once again about how God's mercies (plural) are new every morning. I found a passage very similar to the one ...

 This morning, I was working on a couple of new devotionals that I hope to have ready to put in my bookstore soon. One of the things I was studying was how God orders our steps. I pulled out an old-school Stong's concordance, which is still based in King James. I found this very interesting phrase listed out of Job. It said, "I used to wash my steps with butter...." I had to look it up to see what in the world it was talking about!  I opened to Job 29 and started reading, and soon realized that Job was mourning his former life. He was listing out what his life looked like before he lost his children, his riches, and his health. In verses 2 through 6, he says, I long for the years gone by when God took care of me, when he lighted the way before me, and I walked safely through the darkness. In my early years, the friendship of God was felt in my house. The Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me. In those days, my cows produced milk in abundance, and my o...

  Lately, it sure feels like my proverbial plate is full. And by that, I mean it just feels a lot fuller than normal. Thoughts run through my head like traffic on busy highways. And yes, that is plural highways, because my mind has a LOT of traffic. Lol. Somehow, it just feels like things are stacking up - not bad things, necessariy, just things. Some days it's a constant struggle to keep my mind captured and under the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5) I can't even say it's worrying, it's just a lot of individual "stuff" that has to be dealt with every single day. That's caregiving, though, right? So, this morning, when I "found" this verse in Psalms, I was like - man, do I need to do that today!  David says in Pslam 62:8, O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out you heart  to Him, for God is our refuge. (NLT) I stopped to think for a minute about the practicality of pouring out my heart before Him. My first thought was, does He r...

 One thing I hear from caregivers a lot is that there is often not enough help. Recently, I requested a few hours of respite just because I literally have zero breaks. For many of us, it's a 24-7 deal. Even for those whose loved ones can be left alone for any amount of time, it's still rough. Someday, I'd like to go somewhere and not feel like I have to watch the clock so closely. Even if we are given a few minutes or hours to ourselves, we can't turn "off" all the caregiving switches. Right? Who will admit to running caregiving errands while you are being relieved by a sitter or another caregiver? (We all do.) Anyone who tells you that caregiving is easy - just hasn't done it yet. It is indeed a labor of love. It may be instinctual. It is what we do. But the journey is rocky and rough at best, even if things go smoothly for 10 minutes now and then. (Lol.) So many factors feed into a single day; it's quite overwhelming, at best, even when things are go...

Each caregiving journey is unique. We all have so many different variables that come into play, it's really hard to compare our situations. But I'm pretty sure we've all become great jugglers along the way. I won't even try to list all the different things we deal with on a given day. And while it's different for each of us, there are still numerous elements we must juggle just right, so that we don't drop anything important. Of course, it's all important. It's funny how the littlest thing can send the entire day, along with our emotions off course. Oh we're good. We'll figure it out and get through the day, the week, the situation, etc. Because each of us have become the GOAT at juggling.  Our experiences may bring out a laugh - but we know it's true! We could probably just look at a single area and realize how much we plan, organize, and juggle. And most likely that is every single day. I've got quite a list of them running through my h...